Mathilde Ive, Royal Danish Yacht Club

From 31 August – 4 September, 17 nations competed for the J/70 European Championship title, but there can only be one winner – and this time that winner came from Spain.

Blessed with exceptional weather and five days of world class racing in Copenhagen, Denmark, José María Torcida Seghers performed well on the water, with top 10 placements in all 6 races, claiming gold with 21 points, 4 points ahead of Britian‘s Paul Ward. American Michael Goldfarb took third place, with 43 points, just ahead of Denmark’s Jens Christensen who was looking to take the third place trophy home to his local club – and host of the European Championship – Royal Danish Yacht Club. But the final race of the day ended badly for the Dane with a 34th place, missing the podium by just 3 points.

Spain also claimed first place among Corinthians, with Luis Bugallo Arriola finishing first, followed by Germany’s Ole Nietiedt and Britain’s Charles Thompson in third.

All in all, the event was the perfect comeback from a season haunted by COVID.