European Beach Sailing Championship — St. Peter-Ording

Beach Sailing — The Fastest Land Wind Sport

Beach sailing (also known as 'Land Yachting') is one of the oldest wind sports – the first carts rolled across Belgian beaches as early as the 17th century. Today, the sport has evolved into a highly technical discipline: small three-wheeled carts with a mast and sail can reach speeds of up to 130 km/h under optimal conditions – almost twice as fast as the wind that propels them.

St. Peter-Ording — Europe's Best Venue

The Ordinger Strand in St. Peter-Ording is one of the very few beaches in Europe suitable for high-class beach sailing. The requirements are: an extremely flat, hard sand surface (for high rolling speeds), sufficient width (min. 500 m), a long enough distance (12 km), and, above all, consistent, strong winds. SPO meets all four criteria – no other German beach comes close.

FISLY and the European Championship Format

The event is organized by the St. Peter-Ording Tourism Office in cooperation with FISLY (Fédération Internationale de Sand et Land Yachting) – the international federation for beach and land yachting. The European Championship includes several classes:

• Class 2 (Mini Yachts) – small carts, fastest class
• Class 3 (Standard) – medium-sized carts
• Class 5 (Mini 5.6) – beginner class
• Class 8 (Standard with sail) – larger carts
• Mini Class
• Classes for juniors and women

Six Days of Competition

From September 14th to 19th, the races will take place on Ordinger Strand. The exact course layout will be determined daily based on wind and tide – usually triangular courses with buoy turning points over several kilometers. Between 50 and 150 drivers from European countries (Belgium, Netherlands, France, Germany, Great Britain, Poland, Sweden, Italy) are expected.

In the North Frisia District

St. Peter-Ording is a municipality in the North Frisia district on the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein, on the Eiderstedt peninsula. With around 4,000 inhabitants but more than two million overnight guests annually, SPO is one of Germany's most important seaside resorts. The European Beach Sailing Championship complements the season's top sports program, which also includes the California Windsurf Cup, the Kitesurf Masters, and the Kite Festival.