🏆 F18 European Tour 2026: Patrick Demesmaeker and Gilles Tas win the first edition

PRESS RELEASE

Hellevoetsluis (Netherlands), 28 September 2026

From Barcelona to Hellevoetsluis, via La Rochelle and Lake Como, the first edition of the F18 European Tour came to a close on Sunday in the Netherlands after five months of racing. Four acts, 38 races, four different act winners and an overall ranking that stayed open until the very end: Patrick Demesmaeker and Gilles Tas (BEL) become the first winners of the circuit, ahead of Emeric Dary and David Fanouillère (FRA) and Hans and Marius van Dam (NED). In Hellevoetsluis, Jacob Lundqvist and David Fanouillère won the final act of the season.

A finale in the image of the season

The fourth and final act took place from 25 to 27 September in Hellevoetsluis, on the Haringvliet. Hosted by Catamaranvereniging Hellecat and doubling as the F18 Open Dutch Championship, the event brought together 36 crews.

The three days offered very different conditions: light southerly breeze and a tactical racecourse on Friday, a steadier northerly flow allowing five back-to-back races on Saturday, then a return to light airs on Sunday, with almost three hours of waiting on the water before the first valid race of the day. Ten races were completed in total.

Leaders from Saturday evening, Jacob Lundqvist and David Fanouillère kept control of the final day. Despite breaking a cable on the finish line of race nine, won by Wendeborn and Lindstädt at the end of an epic finish, five boats crossing the line within ten seconds, they wrapped up their weekend by leading the tenth and final race from start to finish, their fourth race win of the weekend.

With 14 points, they won ahead of Germany’s Editha Wendeborn and Jesse Lindstädt, second with 18 points, and Patrick Demesmaeker and Gilles Tas, third with 30 points. The Dutch crew of Kathelijn de Bruijne and Sander de Boer, with two race wins to their name, finished fourth, ahead of Hans and Marius van Dam. Vincent Blin and Raphaël Presle, sixth, took a race win on Saturday.

Ashore as on the water, the Hellecat club delivered an exemplary organisation, praised by every crew: thank you to the whole team and the volunteers.

For this final event, David Fanouillère sailed with Sweden’s Jacob Lundqvist, standing in for Emeric Dary, who was unavailable. The new pairing found its rhythm immediately and won at its very first regatta together.

“David contacted me after the European Championship to suggest sailing with him in Hellevoetsluis. We immediately found a good way of working on board. I am happy to have done the job with this win, and to have contributed to the team’s second place in the final standings of the F18 European Tour.”

Jacob Lundqvist, Act 4 winner

🥇 A first title decided by 3.95 points

The F18 European Tour regulations count each crew’s three best results across the four acts.

At the end of the finale, Patrick Demesmaeker and Gilles Tas win the first edition with 346.88 points, ahead of Emeric Dary and David Fanouillère, second with 342.93 points, and Hans and Marius van Dam, third with 342.09 points.

Just 3.95 points separate the top two, 0.84 point the second and third, and 4.79 points cover the entire podium.

Winners in La Rochelle and consistently at the front all season long, Patrick Demesmaeker and Gilles Tas built their success on their remarkable consistency.

Hans and Marius van Dam also fought for the title until the very end. Winners of the opening act in Barcelona with five wins in six races, the Dutch father and son finish less than five points behind the champions despite missing La Rochelle.

Also worth noting, a fine performance by Goodall Design: all three podium crews raced the yard’s Akurra design.

“It is a magnificent initiative to have organised four acts like this. We sailed on four very beautiful racing areas, in very different conditions. It came down to very few points with David’s team and with Hans and Marius van Dam. Gilles and I stayed focused right to the end. Winning the first edition of this Tour is inevitably something special.”

Patrick Demesmaeker, winner of the F18 European Tour 2026

📊 Final overall standings (3 best acts out of 4)

1. 🇧🇪 Patrick Demesmaeker / Gilles Tas (BEL 1), 346.88 pts, winners of the F18 European Tour 2026
2. 🇫🇷 Emeric Dary / David Fanouillère / Jacob Lundqvist (FRA 7), 342.93 pts
3. 🇳🇱 Hans van Dam / Marius van Dam (NED 77), 342.09 pts
4. 🇫🇷 Cédric Bader / Yves Peters (FRA 1), 333.94 pts
5. 🇫🇷 Victorien Erussard / Frédéric Moreau (FRA 5), 324.16 pts
6. 🇫🇷 Manu Boulogne / Jean Boulogne / Matthieu Marfaing / Bastiaan Tentij (FRA 901), 312.70 pts
7. 🇫🇮 Victor Silen / Anssi Muikku (FIN 67), 303.52 pts
8. 🇸🇪 Fredrik Karlsson / Niklas Nordblom (SWE 7), 255.77 pts
9. 🇧🇪 Wim Van Acker / Stan Pattyn (BEL 11), 237.43 pts
10. 🇦🇷 Smith Cruz Gonzalez / Mariano Heuser (ARG 11), 228.89 pts

👉 The full overall standings and the detailed results of all four acts on the Ranking page

🌍 From Barcelona to Hellevoetsluis, five months of European racing

Launched in late April in Barcelona, the F18 European Tour gathered 22 crews from 10 nations for its first start. In very light Mediterranean breeze, Hans and Marius van Dam immediately made their mark, winning five of the six races.

Three weeks later, La Rochelle welcomed 28 crews in a completely different register. After an opening day lost to strong winds, the fleet strung together tactical racing, a raid around Fort Boyard and the île d’Aix, then 15 to 20 knots to finish. Patrick Demesmaeker and Gilles Tas took the win after eleven races.

In July, the Tour moved up a dimension by incorporating the European Championship in Dervio, on Lake Como. With 109 crews from 17 nations and four continents, it was the big event of the season. Henri Demesmaeker, Patrick’s son, and Rasmus Rosengren claimed the European title after eleven races. Two and a half months later, Patrick Demesmaeker added his own name to the honours list by winning the overall Tour.

Finally, Hellevoetsluis brought together 36 crews for the finale and the Dutch championship.

Across these four events, no crew won two acts: Hans and Marius van Dam in Barcelona, Patrick Demesmaeker and Gilles Tas in La Rochelle, Henri Demesmaeker and Rasmus Rosengren in Dervio, then Jacob Lundqvist and David Fanouillère in Hellevoetsluis.

A diversity of winners and conditions that sums up the sporting ambition of this first season: regularly bringing the main national fleets together at a handful of major European events.

🧭 Giving the F18 a European backbone

The F18 European Tour was born from a simple observation: rather than adding new events to an already busy calendar, the goal was to connect several existing major events through a common ranking, with a limited number of acts spread across the season.

Four events in four countries, roughly two months apart, with the three best results counting: a formula designed to make participation easier for crews, to strengthen the confrontations between the different national fleets, and to give the European season more visibility.

“The F18 is a deeply international class. This first season shows the value of better coordinating our major European events. The Tour creates a common thread through the season and encourages crews to meet beyond their national championships.”

Olivier Bovyn, President of the International Formula 18 Class Association

“We needed a true European backbone: a circuit that is easy to understand, reasonable in its number of events and attractive enough to create momentum. Fleets attract fleets: if we choose the right places, at the right times, crews naturally want to come together. This first season confirms we are heading in the right direction. Our goal now is to keep this momentum going and progressively establish the F18 European Tour as a reference event for the European community.”

Victorien Erussard, co-founder of the F18 European Tour

📅 See you in 2027

The F18 European Tour will return in 2027 for a second season of four acts.

The principle will remain the same: a limited number of major events, chosen for their sporting quality, their place in the calendar and their ability to bring the different European fleets together.

The full 2027 F18 European Tour calendar will be announced at the end of October.

ℹ️ About the F18 European Tour

Created in 2026 in partnership with the International Formula 18 Class Association, the F18 European Tour is a European Formula 18 sport-catamaran circuit raced over four acts. Each crew keeps its three best results to establish the overall season ranking.

⏪ Relive the season 👉 the full story of the European Championship on Lake Como

Press contact

Email: contact@f18europeantour.com · Website: www.f18europeantour.com

Hellevoetsluis (Netherlands), 28 September 2026