Everything you need to know ahead of the 55th Princess Sofia Trophy

credit: Sailing Energy / Trofeo Princesa Sofia

Beckett bids for five in a row and Wilson defends overall title

The Princess Sofia Trophy returns to Palma this week and the British Sailing Team arrives with a mix of proven champions and emerging talent. As the opening event of the Sailing Grand Slam, the Princess Sofia Trophy marks the start of a five-regatta circuit that gathers the world’s top sailors across all 10 Olympic classes.

This year’s 55th edition will see more than 1,100 sailors, from 62 nations converge on the Bay of Palma. The British Sailing Team and British Sailing Squad will field 53 athletes competing in 41 boats and boards across all Olympic disciplines.

The team will be looking to repeat an historic performance in 2025, when they topped the medal table with nine medals, including five golds. Among the highlights 12 months ago, Emma Wilson claimed the overall title following a commanding iQFOiL campaign, while Micky Beckett secured his fourth consecutive ILCA 7 victory in Palma.  

The regatta will take place from March 31 to April 5 across four sites making up the event: Arenal (49er, 49erFX, Nacra 17, 470), Ca’n Pastilla (ILCA 6 and 7), Portixol (iQFOiL) and Playa de Palma beach (Formula Kite).

Ones to watch

470 Mixed

Newly crowned European champions Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris head straight from Vilamoura to Palma. Last year they dominated the 470 fleet at Princess Sofia to win by a significant margin.

They will be joined by three other British Sailing Team and British Sailing Squad crews including Hannah Bristow and James Taylor, whose fifth place finished at last year’s Princess Sofia regatta spring boarded a breakthrough season. 

Squad: Hannah Bristow / James Taylor, James Crossley* / Rachael Potter, Haydn Sewell / Dani Fusco-House, Martin Wrigley / Bettine Harris

49er 

The British Sailing Team brings a strong six crew squad to the opening Sailing Grand Slam event of the season. James Grummett and Rhos Hawes finished in the top 10 at this regatta last season and will be hoping to step on the podium this time round. 

Squad: Fin Armstrong / Richie Thurlby, Charlie Gran / Ewan Gribbin, James Grummett / Rhos Hawes, Sam Jones / Tristan Ahlheid, Billy Vennis-Ozanne / Zac Blomeley, Elliott Wells / Freddie Lonsdale 

49erFX 

2024 Paris Olympians Freya Black and Saskia Tidey made the perfect start to the LA 2028 cycle with victory in Palma last year. Currently ranked second in the world, the pair will be hoping to repeat their success on the Balearic Sea. 

Squad: Maddy Anderson / Katie Dabson, Freya Black / Saskia Tidey, Florence Brellisford / Sophie Raven, Karrie Clark / Felicity Brellisford, Eleanor Keers / Jess Jobson

Freya Black and Saskia Tidey won gold in 2025 (credit: Sailing Energy / Trofeo Princesa Sofia

Formula Kite Men

Following Conor Bainbridge's retirement in 2025, Sam Dickinson will be the sole athlete flying the flag for the British Sailing Team in the Formula Kite class. Dickinson established himself as one of the world's best in 2025 with consistent results across the season seeing him rise to seventh in the World Sailing rankings.

Squad: Sam Dickinson

Formula Kite Women

Current world number one Lily Young returns to the water alongside rising star Ella Geiger in the women's Formula Kite. Young returns to racing following a rapid recovery from a hand injury which required major surgery this winter and will be hoping to stand on the podium again in Palma after a brilliant silver medal last time out. 

Squad: Ella Geiger and Lily Young 

ILCA 7 

All eyes will be on Welshmen Beckett as he looks to extend his extraordinary run in Palma having dominated this event in recent years.  Other Brits to look out for in the fleet are Finley Dickinson and Tokyo 2020 Olympian Elliot Hanson. Hanson finished runner-up to Beckett in last year's regatta. 

Squad: Micky Beckett, Finley Dickinson, Arthur Farley, James Foster, Elliot Hanson, James Percival-Cooke and Sam Whaley

ILCA 6

The British women’s ILCA 6 squad features a mix of youth and experience, with strong depth across the fleet. Last year Daisy Collingridge secured her first medal at senior level with a bronze at Princess Sofia.

 Matilda Nicholls has made a strong start to 2026 with a win at the test event for next year's Combined World Championships in Fortaleza followed by a podium at the Vilamoura Grand Prix in February. 

Squad: Daisy Collingridge, Matilda Nicholls, Molly Sacker and Hannah Snellgrove 

Daisy Collingridge secured her first major global medal last year (credit: Sailing Energy/Princesa Sofia Trophy

iQFOiL Men

2026 is a huge year for British windsurfing with the iQFOiL World Championships coming to Weymouth & Portland this September. Scotland's Andy Brown arrives in Palma brimming with confidence after being crowned world champion in Denmark last summer. 

Finn Hawkins comes into the regatta in excellent form having medalled at the European Championships this past December. The Cornishman followed that up with a win at the iQ Games in Lanzarote in February. 

Squad: Matt Barton, Max Beaman, Andy Brown, Finn Hawkins, Duncan Monaghan, Boris Shaw, Sam Sills, Will Ziegler

iQFOiL Women

Olympic bronze medallist Emma Wilson headlines the British challenge as defending  Princess Sofia overall champion. Like Brown, Wilson went onto claim her first world-title later in the season and has clearly established herself as the woman to beat in the iQFOiL class. 

Islay Watson made a great start to the year with a top 10 finish at the iQ Games and has history of strong performances in Mallorca. 

Squad: Jennie Roberts, Islay Watson and Emma Wilson

Emma Wilson and Finn Hawkins both claimed gold at the recent iQ Games in Lanzarote (credit: Sailing Energy)

Nacra 17 

Reigning world champions John Gimson and Anna Burnet will kick start their 2026 racing campaign this week. The pair had a dream start at this venue last year taking home gold in impressive fashion. 

More success followed secured their third Nacra 17 World Championship last October in breathtaking fashion, narrowly defeating longtime rivals Gianluigi Ugolini and Maria Giubilei of Italy.

Squad: John Gimson / Anna Burnet 

How to follow the regatta?

The official website featuring results and the full entry list is here. Please note there is no livestream for this event.

If you want to track the progress of the team the best place to do so is the British Sailing Team Instagram. Each day we will keep you posted on results, and feature the best photos, videos the event has to offer.