Numbers and protagonists define the 2025 Melges 24 European Sailing Series ahead of 2026 season
by International Melges 24 Class Association 18 Jan 09:39 UTC
The numbers say it: the 2025 season for the Melges 24 International Class has been epic.
Sixty-eight boats classified at the Melges 24 World Championship in Trieste, won by Peter Karrie with Nefeli (GER), first German team to achieve the highest laurel in the history of the Class, and 107 boats completed the entry list for the Melges 24 European Sailing Series, won overall for the second year in-a-row by Lukasz Podniesinski's Razjaren (CRO) helmed by Ante Cesic, with the Corinthian division owned by Miles Quinton's Zhik Race Team (GBR), who led it also to the conquer of the Corinthian World Champion around the buoys of the Yacht Club Adriaco, the excellent organizer of the most attended main event of the last ten years. This impressive tally is in addition to the 26 crews ready to start the 2025 Melges 24 North American Championship, which is currently warming up in Miami to be held along with the Bacardi Winter Series first event from January 23 to 25. These figures are a source of pride for the class, led by Duncan Stamper (USA), who was elected as a new IM24CA Chair to succeed Laura Grondin (USA), whose chairmancy ended last November.
All told, there are approximately 150 crews active globally, out of 212 registered with the International Melges 24 Class Association (IM24CA). Despite being small, resident fleets are able to enjoy some super competitive local regattas, and are ready to set sail to add color and uniqueness to the main seasonal events organised or managed by IM24CA and National Classes all over the world. This practice began more than 30 years ago with the Melges 24, one of the first one-design boats to gain global popularity, and continues to drive its success today.
The greatest concentration of crews, as mentioned, has been during the 2025 Melges 24 European Sailing Series, the thirteenth edition, since the first assignment of the European Sailing Series Perpetual Trophy in 2013. Spread across 10 events between April and September, the circuit sailed in Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Italy, and Norway and attracted entries from 16 different countries.
Razjaren, the team owned by Lukasz Podniesinski and led by Ante Cesic, topped the overall rankings, completing an epic 'triplete': the Croatian champions had already won the circuit in 2024 and captured the Melges 24 European title in the home waters of Split that same year. Something that made Ante Cesic super proud: "Confirming ourselves at the top of the ranking has been a satisfying achievement: sailing downwind at high speed in the Melges 24 jungle gives you vibes, having the confirmation that you were the top player doing this is something to be remembered".
Results speak to a team vying for the top spot, with their achievements easing any performance anxiety: "After winning two years in a row, we are quite relaxed for the 2026 European Sailing Series. We will go step by step, trying to improve ourselves at every event. I hope we will have many good teams competing this year so we have a nice time on the water".
Relaxed but no less hungry for memorable performances and focused on the improvements to achieve: "We still feel ourselves very competitive, aiming for winning. Of course, there is always the feeling that we are missing something and that we can improve many things. This year at the Worlds in Trieste, we had many problems, and the final results weren't what we expected. But situations like that one actually keep us pushing more and training harder".
It cannot be omitted that for a crew like Razjaren the redde rationem will be the 2027 Melges 24 World Championship, scheduled in Pula (CRO): "To be honest, we can't wait for that Worlds. It is in 2027, I think, at the end of May, beginning of June. It's only one year and a few months from now. Since we already won the Europeans, our big dream is to become World Champions. Probably this year we will not go to the USA for the Melges 24 Worlds set in Harbor Springs, so our next opportunity will be in Croatia. In the season 2026. We will start with light preparation for the Worlds and push more at the beginning of the next year. I hope that we will have a similar fleet competing in Croatia as in Trieste, it was an amazing regatta with so many good teams, probably this was the highest quality of sailors I ever sailed in my life".
To complete the overall podium of the 2025 Melges 24 European Sailing Series were the former Melges 24 European Champion of Strambapapà (ITA), with Michele Paoletti at the helm, and Luka Sangulin's Panijc (CRO).
A success shared with Corinthian Miles Quinton's Zhik Race Team, which was the overall winner of the Melges 24 European Sailing Series in 2015 and 2017, and Corinthian winner in 2016. 2025 has been the best season yet for this determined British crew, which has historically included helmsman Geoff Carveth.
"2026 was a vintage year for my Zhik Race Team, starting strongly in Opatjia (CRO), where two days of light winds were followed by one day of Bora, where we came 2nd Corinthian, the same Bora that was to play a crucial role in the last day of the Worlds in Trieste. Trogir (CRO) followed with light winds, where we came 3rd Corinthian, but we struggled in Riva (ITA) to make our mark, only scoring 4th overall, but we were leading the ESS Corinthian ranking. Next was Monfalcone (ITA), a new venue for us, where it was great to see the new Red Bull sailing centre where a combination of light and Bora winds led us to 2nd Corinthian overall so we were still leading the ranking," is the detailed description of Miles Quinton, a well-known face in the International Melges 24 Class Association, of which he holds a seat on the Executive Committee.
"Then came the big one: the Melges 24 Worlds in Trieste. We knew the boat was going well, but we needed everything to fall in place to maximise our opportunity. In the final day we were one place behind Mataran (CRO), but still a long way to go: we raced in strong Bora at the upper end of the range we knew this was our opportunity, so we wanted to give it everything from the local knowledge of our two young Trieste sailors Sara and Gio to the experience of the rest of the team Geoff, Oli and myself. We knew the boat was quick in these conditions, so we needed to get off the start line cleanly and back our tactics, which put us in a strong position going into the last race. We decided to come off the right side of the line and go right, which proved to be exactly the right call. Sailing in clean air, we were fast, so we hiked hard up to the top mark. We knew we could not control the competition, but when we crossed the finish line, we thought, maybe just maybe, we had done it! We saw Nefeli celebrating, waiting anxiously, and then came a call from the livestream studio...it was Mauro: 'How does it feel to be a Melges 24 Corinthian World Champion?!". We went crazy with joy... a true Anglo-Italian triumph, perfect!". It is the conclusion of a still emotional Miles Quinton.
To complete the Corinthian podium of the 2025 Melges 24 European Sailing Series were Akos Csolto's Chinook (HUN), overall winner in 2023 and Corinthian winner in 2024, and the two-time Corinthian Melges 24 World Champion, Ivo Matic's Mataran 24 (CRO), with Ante Botica at the helm.
Melges 24 European Sailing Series 2025 Overall: (top ten, 4 best events, 1 discard)
1. RAZJAREN (CRO 867), owner Lukasz Podniesinski, helm Ante Cesic - 174.75 pts
2. STRAMBAPAPA (ITA 689), owner/helm Michele Paoletti - 162.75 pts
3. PANJIC (CRO 803), owner/helm Luka Šangulin - 160.00 pts
4. MELGINA (ITA 693), owner/helm Paolo Brescia - 152.50 pts
5. ZHIK RACE TEAM (GBR 694), owner Miles Quinton, helm Geoff Carveth - 152.25 pts (Corinthian)
6. CHINOOK (HUN 850), owner/helm Akos Csolto - 147.00 pts (Corinthian)
7. NEFELI (GER 673), owner/helm Peter Karrie - 145.75 pts
8. DAITO NANO (ITA 748), owner/helm Dino Orioli - 133.00 pts
9. MATARAN 24 (CRO 649), owner Ivo Matic, helm Ante Botica - 133.00 pts (Corinthian)
10.TAKI 4 (ITA 778), owner Giacomo Fossati, helm Niccolo Bertola - 128.50 pts (Corinthian)
Corinthian Teams - Melges 24 European Sailing Series 2025 Overall: (top five, 4 best events, 1 discard)
1. ZHIK RACE TEAM (GBR 694), owner Miles Quinton, helm Geoff Carveth - 152.25 pts (5th overall)
2. CHINOOK (HUN 850), owner/helm Akos Csolto - 147.00 pts (6th overall)
3. MATARAN 24 (CRO 649), owner Ivo Matic, helm Ante Botica - 133.00 pts (9th overall)
4. TAKI 4 (ITA 778), owner Giacomo Fossati, helm Niccolo Bertola - 128.50 pts (10th overall)
5. WHITE ROOM (GER 677), owner Michael Tarabochia, helm Luis Tarabochia - 119.75 pts (13th overall)
All these teams are eager to be back on the starting line in Europe. The 2026 Melges 24 European Sailing Series kicks off in Opatija, where Yacht Club Croatia will host the first regatta in a series of 10 events that bring the Melges 24 teams to the race courses in Croatia, Italy, Austria, Norway and Denmark.
The International Melges 24 Class Association thanks all National Melges 24 Classes and yacht clubs for organising the regattas and hosting Melges 24 fleets across Europe, both in the past and upcoming seasons. The events and venues for the 2026 season are confirmed, and the official Notice of Series (NOS) will be published soon.