The K6 fleet’s return to glorious Lake Como for the 2026 EuroCup meeting included the popular K1 fleet with whom the fleet would share much of the course, this being the K1s first excursion to a European venue. Seven K6s and 14 K1s made the trip competing over five days for each class’s EuroCup trophy; the host club, the delightful and efficient team at AVAL-CDV, Gravedona ed Uniti.
Scheduled racing on the first day was due to start at a relaxed 2pm with two races. On time the thermal wind came in giving competitors excellent conditions. Both fleets raced over a windward/leeward course with the K1s moving across to a trapezoid outer loop from the windward mark before both classes finished reaching to a shared finish line. First race, three laps, after a clean start, Lawrence and Luka Crispin (K6 222) pull away from the fleet and came home clear in first place, followed by Michel Guglieri, Yann Guglieri and Alexandre Roche (K6 194) and in third Mike Trueman, James Bennett and Paul Owen (K6 172). On the final lap John Tabor and Nico Perzo (K6 122) managed an overlap on George and Bertie Barker (K6 209) at the leeward mark and just held off the Barkers for fourth.
For race two the Italian race officer slightly shortened the course to keep within the 45 minute race time. Following the K1s start the K6 fleet had another clean start making their way up the course, tacking in the shifts, avoiding the occasional kite surfer (or was it the other way round?). Same course, same challenges, same top three. A great first day’s sailing in magnificent surroundings.
Tuesday, three afternoon races scheduled but with a forecast storm due early evening. First race of the day saw the Crispins home first, holding off Team Guglieri in second, who were proving to be really quick upwind, Team Barker in third and Team Trueman fourth. Second race Lawrence and Luka once again the winners with Team Trueman in second, Team Guglieri in third and the Barkers fourth. At the end of the race the Race Officer signalled no more racing as the predicted storm was approaching earlier than expected.
The spectacular thunder storm rumbled around the mountains during the evening, quite a light show! By Wednesday morning the weather had reverted to expected conditions, wall to wall sunshine and temperature well above 30+ degrees. The thermal wind kicked in, as normal, around midday, the AP flag was lowered and the fleet made their way to the start area.
Racing resumed as scheduled. Whilst the threat of the storm had abated, there remained a threat that stormy weather would return. Racing began on time with Lawrence and Luka winning the first two races; this was becoming a very dominant performance from the current UK National Champions. Second in race one was Team Guglieri followed by The Barkers with Team Trueman in fourth. The following race saw Team Barker in second, Team Guglieri third and Team Trueman fourth. The top four beginning to pull away from John and Nico in fifth. Racing for the day was once more cancelled with the threat of stormy weather.
Making up for lost racing, four races were arranged for Thursday in bright sunshine and building wind, which came in slightly later than predicted. Race one and the Crispins continued where they had left off, second was Team Barker who just pipped Team Guglieri both reaching across to the finish line. Fourth was Team Trueman. Second race saw another win for the Crispins with Michel Guglieri and his team second, Team Trueman third and the Barkers in fourth. Once again time had run out for any further racing and the fleet had to make do with the long kite run home up the Lake in a really good breeze.
Thursday evening and a few took up the offer of a yoga session to warm down before a wonderful Championship diner at the Club in true Italian style. This year indoors due to the expected storm.
Friday, final day of racing, a building breeze and sunshine, perfect conditions once again! Lawrence and Luka had yet to lose a race, so with just two races scheduled they had an unassailable lead. Not so for the other podium places; with Michel Guglieri and team secure in second, Team Trueman had a slim one point lead over Team Barker in fourth.
First race, two laps of the course. Team Trueman started well, choosing an early tack onto port to gain height over Team Barker and reach clean air. By the top mark Team Trueman was third followed by the Barkers however, as the Barkers bore away their outhaul gave way and they lost a place to John and Nico. The Barkers were soon back racing and put in an early gybe, John and Nico also gybed and being much the lighter crew were able to accelerate away down wind, maintaining their position over the final lap to record a fourth place in front of the Barkers. Upfront Team Trueman were not relying on the Barker’s misfortune and had got in front of Team Guglieri for second, securing third overall. However Lawrence and Luka had put on a dominant performance over the week, winning every race to retain the EuroCup Trophy.
Successful racing depends not just on winners but on all competitors in the fleet, so notables were the team of Mike Deane and Eddie Waring (K6 119) who had had a three day journey from South Windermere to attend. It was also good to welcome Neil Saunders, Mark Brooker and Gary Swanson (K6 109) on their first foray to the EuroCup event, see you next time guys!
Whilst a few races were lost to the weather, this was a very successful event, enjoyed by all, wonderful sailing conditions and a welcoming Club. Sharing the course with the K1 fleet was a complete success, K6s look forward to sharing events with them in the future. Credit for the success of the event goes to the Club which provided excellent organisation, good safety cover, an event photographer each day and a wonderful welcome pack for competitors in partnership with the nearby International Museum of Vintage Boats. Everyone was so very welcoming and helpful, it was a real delight. The race team succeeded in challenging conditions and made the right call cancelling racing well before the storms came in. As for the location, well it is not often you can sail in good wind, bright hot sunshine set against a backdrop of snow on the not so distant Alps, it is a real treat, we will return in 2028.
Results
