The bays off Palma have long been a hive of activity. Most of the participants in the 55th Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca by Fergus Hotels are already training on site for the opening regatta of the Sailing Grand Slam (SGS) 2026. The 470 Mixed, 49er, 49erFX, Nacra 17, Ilca 6 and Ilca 7 boat classes will start the eagerly awaited series on 30 March. The iQFOiL windsurfers and kiters will follow on 31 March. The final decisions will be made on 4 April - the Saturday before Easter.
Strong fields for the Trofeo Princesa Sofía
Around 900 boats and boards with more than 1100 sailors from 62 nations are expected at the first major showdown of the new season for all ten Olympic disciplines. With 81 registered German athletes on 52 boats and boards, the German contingent is one of the largest. The most successful crews from the German Sailing Team and other compatriots are taking part.
The number of participants in the Spanish classic is traditionally high. Good conditions early in the year, experienced and welcoming hosts and the knowledge that the fields are regularly top class also attract the big names in Olympic sailing to the island.
All three podium crews from the European Championships held earlier this year will be competing in the 470 Mixed: the British champions Martin Wrigley/Bettine Harris as well as the European Championship runners-up Giacomo Ferrari/Alessandra Dubini and the bronze medallists Jordi Xammar and Marta Cardona, who will also be competing as reigning world champions.
Almost a dozen German 470 duos at the start
However, after a study-related break the German World Cup runners-up from 2025 back in action: Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort (Württembergischer Yacht-Club/Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee) are in an attacking mood. Other top teams include Theresa Löffler/Christopher Hoerr (Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club/Segelclub Breitbrunn Chiemsee), Malte Winkel/Paula Amelie Schütze (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein/Schweriner Yacht-Club) and Theres Dahnke/Paco Melzer (Plauer Wassersportverein/Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee). A total of eleven German 470 duos are competing - more than from any other country.
In the 49er, the German men are hardly inferior to the 470 mixed teams. They will start the race with ten crews in the field of 101 registered skiffs. Runner-up in the Trofeo Princesa Sofía last year 20-year-old Richard Schultheis and Fabian Rieger (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein/Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee) want to get the season off to another good start. However, the last major regatta with the World Championship in autumn 2025 was a while ago.
"We haven't raced intensively for a long time, we just want to get back into the swing of things," said Fabian Rieger on Mallorca. Like everyone else, his crew is feeling the effects of the current cool temperatures. On Thursday, the air temperature was just 13 degrees. Quite a few teams have - where possible - added a few millimetres to their neoprene layers.
German skiff power off Palma de Mallorca
Jakob Meggendorfer and Andreas Spranger from the Bayerischer Yacht-Club will also be competing in the 49er. There will also be ambitious youngsters such as the KYC crews Simon Heindl/Conrad Jacobs and their young club mates Per and Frederik Schwall. The second pair of brothers in the 49er DSV line-up for the Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca are Johann and Anton Sach from the Lübeck Yacht Club. Click here for the entry lists and all starters.
The best from the German Sailing Team are also in action in the women's skiff counterpart. This applies to Sophie Steinlein and Catherine Bartelheimer (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein), who finished fifth at the World Championships, as well as their team-mates Anna Barth/Emma Kohlhoff (Kieler Yacht-Club), Olympic sixth-placed Marla Bergmann/Hanna Wille (Mühlenberger Segel-Club), Women's America's Cup helmswoman Maru Scheel and Freya Feilcke (Kieler Yacht-Club) and other honourable crews.
The Ilca 7 field is outstanding in terms of quality and quantity with 200 entries! Nine German starters want to open the season in the best possible way. Among them is - currently without squad membership - Philipp Buhl too. The 2020 world champion and three-time Olympian has travelled to the event on his own with limited funds, wants to regain his lost squad place this year and is "confident" under difficult circumstances.
Olympic talents of the national team in the starting blocks
While the Ilca-7 sailors of the national team, including Nik Aaron Willim (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein), Ole Schweckendiek (Kieler Yacht-Club) and Julian Hoffmann (VSaW/Segelclub Alpsee-Immenstadt) are preparing for the Trofeo Princesa Sofía in Palma under the direction of coach Alex Schlonski, Buhl has found support from Bastian Henning.
The state coach from the Bavarian Sailing Association supports Buhl, who wants to qualify for the German Sailing Team again this year. "Bastian is a bit like Dom Tidey from the Bavarian Sailing Association: he's a year older than me, an experienced coach and is keen on the project. He flies a drone, has developed his own analysis app, is a sailmaker and brings a lot of motivation with him," says Buhl, grateful for the commitment.
Other aces up the DSV's sleeve at the Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca are Theresa Steinlein (NRV), sixth in the iQFOiL windsurfing Olympics, fifth in the kite Olympics Jannis Maus (Cuxkiters) and his team-mate Jan Vöster (Württembergischer Yacht-Club), who has recently become faster and faster. Together with all the Olympic windsurfers and kiters, they will not be challenged until 31 March.
Flashback! The review of the 54th Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca last year shows the final day:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
