A Childhood Dream Realized: Damian Borras on Hosting the Snipe World Championship in Menorca

Mahon, Spain, September 23, 2026. Damian Borras was interviewed in Spanish (the interview can be found at this Instagram link) about the Snipe World Championship in Menorca. Below is the English translation:

“A World Championship here in Menorca is like a childhood dream come true, and with that, I believe I’ve achieved my true objective for this regatta. Seeing the atmosphere, the local setup, and all the people from Mahón coming together—heading down to the town and coming out to watch the regatta—has been truly fascinating.

A World Championship here in Menorca is a long-standing tradition; Basilio said it best in an interview the other day. It’s been a tradition forever. Ever since I was little, my parents, and the parents of all our sailors competing here today, were sailing Snipes, and that was the ultimate goal. It is the boat par excellence of the Club Marítimo de Mahón, and honestly, you end up falling in love with it—it’s impossible to stop sailing it.

This year marks exactly 50 years that I’ve been sailing in the Snipe class, and to me, it is the boat. It’s also the boat that allows us to compete every single weekend, which is crucial—that doesn’t exist in any other category.

The 1994 European Championship here in Mahón was spectacular. It was the equivalent of this championship, just on a European level, and it meant a great deal to me. Winning at home always brings a double sensation: achieving the ultimate goal of winning the European Championship, and doing so right in front of your friends and colleagues, which makes you appreciate it so much more. It really was a dream come true.

I distinctly remember reading a black-and-white pamphlet—a sort of newsletter—with my sailing mates (who are very old now, and some are no longer with us). It told us about how the Americans, the Japanese, and the Brazilians were sailing Snipes with these amazing masts and sails. Back then, we were sailing here with cloth rags for sails and wooden boats, so it blew our minds. Bringing all of that here and now being the center of attention for the entire global Snipe class is, as I said before, our greatest triumph and a immense honor for me.

I haven’t given them many clues! They beat us easily yesterday, so we need to tighten the screws a bit. But I think the beauty of this racecourse—and this has always been the case, whether for big boats during major TP, Classic, or Swan regattas—is that it’s so variable and diverse. No two days or conditions are ever the same, which makes it incredibly special. In most places, specific wind directions bring predictable waves or wind shifts, but not here. You can’t make assumptions because every day is different; today will be different from tomorrow, and it’s the exact opposite of yesterday.”