Punching Through the Fleet: Snow/MacDiarmid USA 31 at the 2025 49er Europeans in Greece
A typical Thessaloniki morning is a late start. With scheduled first warnings at 14:00, the biggest mistake is getting worked up too early. Right off the bat, we know we are in for a unique event. This year’s 49er Europeans brought together the top and up and coming teams from around to world to duke it out on the Aegean. For USA 31, it wasn’t just about showing up. It was about making a statement following our Gold at the French Sailing Grand Slam event three weeks before - and by week’s end, we had.
Thessaloniki puts a premium on turning adversity into consistency. Sea breezes fill in late and patchy, with just enough consistency on which side of the course was working to tempt you—and just enough traps to punish hesitation when things aren’t looking so good. The flat water put an emphasis on crew weight and ratcheted up the difficulty for the larger and more experienced teams sailing. Chase boat chop and pressure lines required sharp coordination and constant adjustment to keep the yacht on mode. Even the logistics are complicated because Greece is really hard to get to! It is on the continent, but far.
We approached the venue with a specific focus: wind intensity awareness and boat handling under pressure to help us get off the starting line. Early training sessions locked in our range for modes upwind and gave us a feel for the groove that would eventually pay off. Still working on coordination at starts… but that will come.
The first two days of racing went well with a bullet in R1, long delays and even no racing but a multi hour float on the second day. A string of top-10s and a first out of the gate gave us early momentum and red bibs after Day 1. By the end of the second day of racing, we were sitting in fourth overall after pulling off a string of top 8 finishes in a tricky offshore breeze that collapsed halfway through the downwind. The second race of the day—where we split early, trusted the the forecasted right shift from our A1R meteorologist, and passed six boats in the final third—was a huge show of force. It wasn’t luck. It was earned.
Still, it wasn’t all clean sailing. On the first day of Gold Fleet, day four, chaos ensued as huge left-hand pressure and two black flagged starts were general recalled which burned everyone’s nerves and took half the fleet out of competition before a single race had been sailed. Racing in Gold wasn’t the usual. At this level, every team is competitive—only small mistakes and split-second decisions make the difference, but in Thessaloniki the wind could evaporate and flip the course on its head in a moments notice. Everyone gets unlucky… It wasn’t about throwing punches every race—it was about keeping your wits about you and picking the moments to advance up the course.
After a high scoring first day in Gold, we regrouped that night and kept our heads down by sticking to the basics: clear lanes, efficient corners, and measured tactics. Two more top-5 finishes pulled us safely into the medal race and even an outside chance of the podium, which only a day before seemed to be slipping away.
The final day Medal Race came down to a multi-boat battle for the top 10. The Kiwi team had sealed the win before the medal race. With the Uruguays in second 10 points away and Spain in third by 5 points, our focus was on the Spanish. Sitting on the chase boat with our coach Klaus keeping us cool and confirming the points we finalized our race plan. Having a championship winning 49er sailor by our side is becoming our not-so-secret weapon. We were aggressive on the start, battling with the Irish until the last minute, before moving up the line to prioritize a good launch. After pushing deep into the left side of the course to exploit a left shore effect - again, credit to A1R mets! - we rounded the first mark in 4th, close behind the Kiwis and ahead of the Spanish. As had happened in France, the Uruguayans had gotten tangled up early on and were stuck in the back of the race. We quickly dispatched the Kiwis and put the bow down to secure 2nd overall - a second podium finish in less than 100 days sailing together.
Leaving Europe with a gold and a silver in back to back major championships, we now head home to Southern California for the US stop of the Sailing Grand Slam series and summer training. We greatly appreciate the support of the Sailing Foundation of New York, Schoonmaker Foundation, St. Francis Sailing Foundation, Windmark and the NYYC High Performance Fund, and as always thanks to America One Racing who are creating the platform to keep us completely focused on going fast.
Ian
