World Sailing has published the Notice of Race for Gdynia 2027, the first big LA 2028 qualifier. We can also confirm where our 2027 Europeans and 2028 Worlds will be.
Next July, 240 skiffs and catamarans will line up off Gdynia, Poland, and for a lot of them the result will decide whether their country goes to the Olympic Games. World Sailing has now published the Notice of Race for the 2027 World Sailing Championships, running from 22 July to 1 August 2027 at Marina Gdynia on the Baltic coast.
This is the biggest single step on the road to LA 2028. 40% of the Olympic nation places in our three fleets will be decided here. In the 49er and 49erFX, that means eight nations in each fleet leave Gdynia with a place in Los Angeles.
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The fleets
49er: 85 boats
49erFX: 85 boats
Nacra 17: 70 boats
Every nation can enter two boats per fleet. A third or fourth spot can be earned through the class World Championship results or the World Sailing rankings.
If you are new to Olympic sailing, one thing is worth knowing. These places go to the country, not to the crew. A team can win a spot for its nation in Gdynia and still have to win its own national selection to be the boat that actually races in LA. At the Games, each country gets one boat per event, so there will be far fewer of them on the start line in 2028 than in Gdynia.
How the racing works
The Nacra 17 fleet races first, from 26 to 31 July. The 49er and 49erFX race from 27 July to 1 August. Each fleet sails up to 15 qualifying races before the top 10 go through to the Finals. The Finals have up to two more races, umpired on the water, so penalties are called on the spot rather than in the protest room. Leaders race in coloured bibs, which makes them easy to follow from shore or on the stream. Prize giving is on 1 August at 18:00 local time.
Racing from Gdynia will be broadcast live.
Read the full Notice of Race and Qualification System HERE
Europeans: La Palma, November 2027
After Gdynia, the fleet heads south. The 2027 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 European Championship will be sailed at Playa Nueva, Santa Cruz de La Palma, in the Canary Islands, from 9 to 14 November 2027.
The Real Federación Canaria de Vela is already looking after teams who want to get there early. It offers free RIB launching and recovery and training space at Marina La Palma. For winter training or ferry arrangements, contact RFCV at secretariatecnica@federacioncanariadevela.org or Berny Benitez on +34 607 43 23 88.
2027 European Championship event page
Worlds: Tangier, early 2028
Our 2028 World Championship goes to Tangier, Morocco, from 31 January to 6 February 2028, sailed out of Tanja Bay Marina. The event will be organised in collaboration with Vilamoura Sailing, a team many in the fleet know well from racing in Portugal. With the Games in July, Tangier will be the last class Worlds before LA 2028.
2028 World Championship event page
Watch this: SheSails, out 5 November
Australian Sailing releases its SheSails short film on 5 November. It celebrates the people, relationships and experiences that shape women’s journeys in sailing, and the 49er plays a big part in the lead character’s story. Give it a watch and share it around.
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