2025 Snipe European Championship: A Preview

The most important Snipe regatta in Europe for 2025 is about to kick off in Vilamoura, Portugal. Hosted by Vilamoura Sailing, Capable Planet Clube Náutico, and the Snipe Class International Racing Association, the event promises high-stakes racing with a truly international field.

The schedule for the championship is as follows:

Measurement: Saturday, September 6, and Sunday, September 7
Practice Race and Opening Ceremony: Monday, September 8
Races: Tuesday, September 9, to Saturday, September 13

A total of nine races are scheduled, with the first discard coming into effect after the seventh race.

Unlike the Western Hemisphere & Asia Championship, the Snipe European Championship has been an open event since 2014. There are no country quotas or specific qualifications, and sailors from all over the world can participate. Approximately 80 boats will be at the starting line from countries including Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Denmark, Great Britain, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the USA.

Despite the large number of entries, the organizing authority has decided not to split the fleet into flights. This means we can expect intense battles at the start and around the marks as all competitors will be on the same course.

The Favorites

Here’s a look at some of the top contenders for both the Open event and the European Champion title:

Julio Alsogaray & Malena Sciarra (ARG) and Matias Seguel & Constanza Seguel (CHI): Both of these strong teams, the current Snipe World Champions and 2023 WH&A Champions, respectively, opted out of the WH&A in San Diego to focus on this European event.
Ernesto Rodriguez & Taylor Scheuermann (USA) and Augie Diaz & Madeline Baldridge (USA): These two American teams are flying straight to Vilamoura from San Diego, ready to compete.
Manu Hens & Alexandre Tinoco (BEL) and Sam Vandormael & Daan Vandormael (BEL).
The Spanish Armada: Spain has a long list of past winners at the Snipe European Championship. The field includes reigning champion skipper Jordi Triay with Lluis Mas, as well as other formidable teams like Damian Borras Camps, Enric Noguera (2023 European champion, crewing for Jordi Triay) & Cristian Vidal, Víctor Pérez Campos & Luca Rosa Bruggioni, Gustavo del Castillo Palop & Rafael del Castillo Palop, Aureliano Negrin & David Martin Perez, Martin Bermudez de la Puente Gallego & Beatriz Diaz Norris, and Roberto Bermudez de Castro Rey & Jose Ramon Pardo Galdo.
Henrique Brites & Diogo Machado Pinto and Pedro Barreto & Duarte Reis: Among the Portuguese crews, these two teams are considered the strongest local contenders.

Who do you think will come out on top?

How to Follow the Races

You can follow all the action on this website and on SnipeToday’s social media channels.

Online Notice Board:https://vilamourasailing.sailti.com/en/default/races/race/text/2025SEC-en
Official Website:https://euro.snipechampionships.org/

Held on alternate years with the World Championship. The trophy has evolved over the years from 1 representative per country to an Open event in 2014.

Champion	Country	Venue	#countries	#teams	Results
R. Martin du Pan	SUI	Santa Margherita, ITA			1950
E. Banford	NOR	Skosvshoved, DEN	10	10	1952
D. Poissant	FRA	Arachon, FRA	10	10	1954
Frank Penman	GBR	Ostende, BEL	11	11	1956
Raymond Fragniere	SUI	Plymouth, GBR	10	10	1958
Raymond Fragniere	SUI	Landskrona, SWE	11	12	1960
Viggo Almquist	SWE	Palma de Mallorca, ESP	13	13	1962
Monstad/Borgen	NOR	San Remo, ITA	14	15	1964
Anton Grego/Simo Nikolic	Yugoslavia	Karlshamm, SWE	14	15	1966
Paulo Santos/Fernando da Silva	POR	Ismir, TUR	14	15	1968
Paulo Santos/Fernando da Silva	POR	Rejeka, Yugoslavia			1970
Felix Gancedo/Rafael Parga	ESP	Porto, POR	14	26	1972
Felix Gancedo/Javier Otero	ESP	Hango, FIN	11	28	1974
Per Brosted/Jan Skotte	DEN	Le Havre, FRA	11	51	1976
Felix Gancedo/Carlos Llamas	ESP	Valencia, ESP	11	59	1978
Flemming Rasmussen/Keld Schultz	DEN	Espergaerde, DEN	10	55	1980
Jorge Haenelt/Laureano Wizner	ESP	Trieste, ITA	12	53	1982
Jorge Haenelt/Laureano Wizner	ESP	Marstrand, SWE	8	43	1984
Fernando Rita/Antonio Andreu	ESP	Santiago de la Ribera, ESP	8	53	1986
Jorge Haenelt/Martin Wizner	ESP	Juelsminde, DEN	10	58	1988
Felix Gancedo/Jesus Vilar	ESP	Porto, POR	9	56	1990
Carlos Llamas/Javier Gutierrez	ESP	Kokkola, FIN	10	43	1992
Damian Borras/Javier Magro	ESP	Mahon, ESP	10	44	1994
Kristoffer Spone/Janett Krefting	NOR	Kolding, DEN	12	55	1996
Aureliano Negrin/David Martin	ESP	Porto, POR	10	43	1998
Birger Jansen/Liv Ulveie	NOR	Asgardstrand, NOR	10	49	2000
Alexey Krylov/Evgenyi Ryzhykov	RUS	Anzio, ITA	12	51	2002
Francisco Sanchez/Javier Jiminez	ESP	Lorient, FRA	12	54	2004
Pablo Fresenda/Cesar Travado	ESP	Pori, FIN	11	55	2006
Gustavo del Castillo/Felipe Llenares	ESP	Las Palmas, GC, ESP	11	48	2008
Paco/Marina Sanchez Ferrer	ESP	Oslo, NOR	9	51	2010
Raul de Valenzuela/Alejandro Antolin	ESP	Cervia, ITA	7	43	2012
Raul de Valenzuela/Alejandro Antolin	ESP	Kamien Pomoroski, POL	12	61	2014
Gustavo del Castillo Palop/Rafael del Castillo Palop	ESP	Santiago de la Ribera, ESP	13	109	Gold Silver Qualifying
Gustavo del Castillo Palop/Rafael del Castillo Palop	ESP	Pori, Finland	10	41	2018
*Ernesto Rodrigez/Kathleen Tocke Jordi Triay/Christian Vidal	USA ESP	Split, Croatia	12	49	2021
Jordi Triay/Enric Noguera	ESP	Gargnano, ITA	15	83	2023