Top 10 Finishes for Aussie Crews in Challenging European Championship

Australia’s 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 sailors have wrapped up a demanding European Championships in Thessaloniki, Greece, with light winds, lengthy delays, and multiple general recalls pushing teams to their limits throughout the week.

In the 49erFX class, New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holder Annie Wilmot and Victoria’s Laura Harding and finished the regatta strongly to secure eighth overall.

“Definitely feel like we are making progress in some areas,” said Harding. “It was nice to be able to step things up a little bit over the course of the week and target some particular areas of our racing, but we know we left a lot of points out there which is always a tough reflection.”

Paris 2024 Olympic duo and NSWIS athletes Brin Liddell and Rhiannan Brown (main picture) delivered a solid performance to finish 8th overall in the Nacra 17 fleet.

“These were not our strongest conditions, and they highlighted areas where we need to improve,” said Liddell. “We’re hungry to keep closing the gap to the front of the fleet. It’s always a privilege to race in the best Olympic class, the Nacra 17, where the level is incredibly high and every detail matters. Kiel Woche in three weeks will be another valuable opportunity to keep learning and building.”

In the 49er class, it was a solid squad performance, with two Australian teams battling it out in Gold Fleet. NSWIS sailors Otto Henry and Shaun Connor finished 18th, while NSWIS’s Harry Price and Max Paul (pictured below) claimed 20th, marking a season-best for the newly formed pairing.

“It was a tough week of sailing in Thessaloniki, we were expecting light air and got plenty of it. Never saw more than eight knots which made for pretty unforgiving racing. Big shoutout to the Kiwis for winning our regatta so comprehensively,” said Paul.

The team showed flashes of brilliance, though tight start-line pressure cost them on the scoreboard.

“Harry and I have been making good progress since the beginning of the year and managed to show some of it this week. Unfortunately we had two BFDs in gold fleet that had a pretty big impact on the scoreboard,” Paul said,

“Still a lot to work on before our Worlds at the end of the year, but happy with the way our sailing is trending in the right direction and looking forward to a winter of solid training at home.”

Despite the challenging conditions, Australia’s fast boat sailors took home crucial takeaways from the European Championships. With the World Championships the pinnacle event later in the season, the momentum and lessons from Greece will prove vital to shape training moving forward.

49er and FX results: https://49er.org/events/2025-european-championship/#result-49

Nacra results: https://nacra17.org/event/2025-european-championship/#nacra17-results

Australian Sailing Team (AST), Australian Sailing Pathway Team (ASPT), Australian Sailing Futures (ASF) and other Australian entries (AUS) at the European Championship:

49erFX – 30 Entries

8th – Laura Harding and Annie Wilmot (AST)
27th – Brooke Wilson (ASF) and Evie Haseldine (ASPT)

28th – Mina Ferguson and Dervla Duggan (ASF)

30th – Lily Richardson and India Gilbert (ASF)

Nacra 17 – 27 Entries

13th – Ruben Booth and Rita Booth (ASPT)

15th – Archie Gargett and Sarah Hoffman (ASPT)

8th – Brin Liddell and Rhiannan Brown (ASPT)

18th – Jake Liddell (ASPT) and Niamh Meehan (ASF)

49er – 56 Entries
18th – Otto Henry and Shaun Connor (ASPT)
20th – Harry Price (AUS) and Max Paul (ASPT)
32nd – Jack Ferguson and Jack Hildebrand (ASPT)
44th- Jacob Marks and Charlie Zeeman (ASF)

Story: Lisa Darmanin – Australian Sailing

Photos: Nikos Pantis