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Eau Vive and Jill claim first victories at 2025 Six Metre World Championships

September 24, 2025 fionabrown Leave a comment

Race one completed but race two abandoned due to dying wind at 2025 Six Metre World Championships on Long Island Sound

First victory in the Open Division goes to reigning World Champion Jamie Hilton of the New York YC and his team aboard Rainer Müller’s brand-new Ian Howlett designed Au Vive

Classic Division first win claimed by the 1931 S&S designed Jill of Alessandro Maria Rinaldi from the YC Costa Smeralda

23 September 2025 – Oyster Bay, NY, USA – After the disappointment of a wind and raceless day one, the 2025 International Six Metre World Championships at the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club finally got underway in warm sunshine and a south-westerly of around 6-8 knots. Although two races were scheduled and started, only race one could be completed. The second race was started, but towards the end of the first lap the breeze began to breakdown and the decision was made to abandon the race for both fleets and send them home.

All images ©SailingShots by Maria Muiña

The one race that was completed saw some really close light airs racing for both fleets. In the Open Division reigning World Champion Jamie Hilton of the New York YC and his team aboard Rainer Müller’s brand-new Ian Howlett designed Eau Vive got a great start to led the race from the off. Dieter Schoen’s new Judel/Vrolick designed Momo II was the only boat to seriously challenge them and these two gradually stretched out from the chasing pack with Eau Vive looking super-fast downwind and pulling out her led on the final run to win by some 40 seconds. Behind them the battle for third place was fierce, with boats constantly changing places as the breeze clocked right. Ultimately third place went narrowly to Reigh North racing Sting for the Royal Vancouver YC, with Foti Lykiardopulo’s Aera of the Royal Yacht Squadron fourth, Laurence Clerc and Nicolas Berthoud’s Junior of the SN de Genève sailing Junior fifth, and Basil Vasiliou’s Jane Anne from the New York YC sixth.

In the Classics the 1931 S&S designed Jill of Alessandro Maria Rinaldi from the YC Costa Smeralda proved that she’s not just a pretty girl. A solid start in the middle of the line set her up nicely to lead at the first mark and she elegantly defended from there. But behind her it was like snakes and ladders. At the first mark it was the young team of Cameron Wallace aboard Ca Va (1938) from the Royal Victoria YC that led the chasing pack, closely followed by His Majesty King Juan Carlos’s Bribon (1947) from RCN Sanxenxo, with Greg Stewart from the San Diego YC sailing Sprig (1930) fourth and Louis Heckly’s Fun (1937) from YC de France fifth. But it was all change on the second lap, where Fun dug deep, did a great job with the shifts and sailed impressively fast to finish second, with Bribon a very close third, Ca Va fourth and Spring fifth.

Third placed Reigh North was particularly pleased with their performance aboard Sting. “The wind was good when we first went out and then it was slowly dying as the day went on. They got the first race off and we had maybe 7-8/9 knots of breeze, it was shifty, and you had to play the current and we did that well, and we’re confident in our boat that it’s going well, so we were happy with where we ended up today. We love the Six Metre Class, and we love it when all the boats get together to race. They are just incredible boats, they are so powered up, and they move and the technology and the design effort that goes into them, and they’ve stood the test of time. Some of the Classics out here are 100 years old and they’re still racing on the water today. And the level in the class is very very high. We’ve got some of the top people in the world here so it’s fun. It’s nice rubbing shoulders with them.”

After racing Louis Heckly summed up their day saying, “We are lucky to have our first race in, which opens the Championship and already we are able to see the big guns and a couple of teams that can pretend for the world title this year. We have not had such a bad start for the whole season, until today, but we managed to go on the good side of the course and make it OK at the end, so we were quite happy to end up in second from ninth position on the first leg. I think it is amazing to see this one class with two divisions coming together on the same racecourse. It’s such a pleasure to see 100-year-old boats playing just as hard on the same racecourse as boats that were built this year.”

Bribon also very much enjoyed their day out as Ross MacDonald explained, “It was good, I think the conditions velocity wise were maybe a little bit lighter than we were expecting really. I think everyone was having a little trouble figuring out the wind shifts. There was a general consensus that at some point the wind would go to the left, but it never really did so that kept us all guessing a bit. It’s fun being in a somewhat new location because you see some different boats that you don’t normally see and some of the other Six Metres here, especially the classic ones, are just spectacular. It was great to see Jill have a win today. They deserved it, they had a great start, and they went in the correct direction, so it was nice to see Jill on top in their first World Championships.”

Alongside the fleet regulars there are a number of newcomers taking part in their first major Six Metre regatta. These include JP Blaise of the Seawanhaka CYC, who summed up his feelings after his first ever world championship race aboard Nuvolari. “I think it was fantastic. The Race Committee had a very hard call on Monday, the first day of the event, to postpone ashore, but clearly it was the right call, so we weren’t out there just floating around doing nothing all day. And it gave a chance for the teams to really kind of mingle a bit and get to know each other. This is our first event, and we’re super thrilled to be here. We’re under the very generous eye of Rainer Müller who has graciously lent several boats to the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club so we are able to compete in the event. We’re having a fantastic time, the class if very competitive and very humbling but our boys are really enjoying it.”

With only one of the possible eight races completed so far, and a minimum of five races required to validate the championship, the Race Committee has revised the schedule to allow 2 races to be sailed on each of the remaining three days. Racing is due to start at 11.30 again on day three, when the forecast promises more light and tricky conditions, with the added delight of drizzle.

You can follow the latest news on the ISMA’s Instagram and Facebook channels and via 6metre.com.

Provisional Race 1 Top Five

Classic Championship
1. USA56 – Jill – Alessandro Maria Rinaldi
2. FRA11 – Fun – Louis Heckley
3. ESP16 – Bribon – Real Club Nautico Sanxenxo
4. SUI112 – Ca Va – Rainer Müller/Cameron Wallace
5. USA43 – Sprig – Greg Stewart

Open Championship
1. SUI144 – Eau Vive – Rainer Müller/Jamie Hilton
2. IVB145 – Momo II – Deiter Schoen
3. SUI127 – Sting – Rainer Müller/Reigh North
4. GRE1 – Aera – Foti Lykiardopulo
5. SUI177 – Junior – Laurence Clerc/Nicolas Berthoud

Members of the press wishing to attend the event or requiring additional information or images should contact ISMA Press Officer Fiona Brown on email fiona.brown@fionabrown.com or Tel/WhatsApp +44 7711 718470.

All images ©SailingShots by Maria Muiña

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Wind Gods fail to deliver on day one of 2025 Six Metre World Championships

September 23, 2025 fionabrown Leave a comment

22 September 2025 – Oyster Bay, NY, USA – Sadly day one of the 2025 Six Metre World Championships at the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club (SCYC) proved to be a non-starter as the wind failed to make an appearance. Initially the Race Committee postponed racing by three hours in the hope that the wind would build, giving a revised start time of 14.30. The committee then went afloat to monitor conditions and kept the teams fully updated, but the wind stubbournly refused to reach a consistent 5 knots.

As there was a light breeze blowing in the harbour some of the teams did leave the moorings and headed out to the race area, but sadly it petered out at the entrance to the bay and Long Island Sound lay like a glassy sheet ahead of them. Although disappointing, it was clear the correct decision had been made, so everyone

For those who didn’t venture afloat it was to be a relaxed day of chatting with friends, playing cards, talking about boats and regattas past, eating, drinking, boat bimbling, and appreciating the stunning beauty of this very special part of the USA. The crew of FRA11 Fun even managed a successful spot of fishing and were very proud of their catch.

Whilst the weather gods might be slacking, the same can’t be said for the regatta’s social committee, which has been pulling out all the stops. As well as Friday’s Official Opening Ceremony, held under the marquee on the club lawn, there have already been an informal Happy Hour hosted by Oakcliff Sailing on Thursday, a Bollywood themed dinner hosted by Commodore and Mrs Hugh Jones at their home on Saturday evening, an informal BBQ at the club on Sunday, and tonight the teams will enjoy an informal poolside dinner being hosted by SCYC Treasurer Russell Byers and his wife Anne at their home.

Our thanks must also go to event sponsor Barton & Grey Mariners Club, who are providing a spectator boat from their elegant charter fleet to take people out to watch the racing, and to Mount Gay Barbados Rum for their support as an official supplier.

Tomorrow morning the crews will meet for their daily 09.00 competitor briefing where Race Officer Shannon Bush will update them on her team’s plans for the day. Currently the forecast is looking more promising with the hope that there will be a reasonable south-south-westerly breeze, so everyone has their fingers crossed and are offering up prayers to their chosen deities that tomorrow will be a better day.

It is now planned that racing will commence at 11:30 on Tuesday 23 September and racing continues until Friday 26 September, with eight races scheduled and five races required to validate a championship.

You can follow the latest news on the ISMA’s Instagram and Facebook channels and via 6metre.com.

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Teams are go for 2025 Six Metre World Championships at Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club

September 21, 2025 fionabrown Leave a comment

29 Teams registered and ready to race 2025 Six Metre World Championships at Seawanhaka Corithian Yacht Club

Seventeen boats from nine nations to compete for the Open Championship and twelve for the Classics

Resurgence of interest in Six Metres sees three brand new boats coming to the line

Century old classics take on the challenge

21 September 2025 – Oyster Bay, NY, USA – Registration is now complete and 29 teams from ten nations are ready to race for the 2025 Six Metre World Championships at the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club on Long Island Sound. Racing for both the Open and Classic Championships will run from Monday 22 to Friday 26 October with up to eight races scheduled. The fleet comprises 17 Open Division boats and 12 Classics, both racing on the same course but starting separately.

The quality of the sailors participating is without doubt exceptional, as Cameron Wallace, the youngest skipper competing in the regatta, confirms: “Our team is pretty unique in the fact that we’re all under the age of 28. So we lack the experience that a lot of these other boats have, but I think we make up for it because we all work together very well and we’re all quite young and fit, so if the breeze comes up, we might be able to outdo some folks in that respect. Thanks to the generosity of Rainer Müller [who has lent them the Classic Six Metre SUI112 Ca Va, a 1938 Baron E. Wedell von Wedellsborg design] we have been able to put together a team and went to the North Americans last year in Anacortez, and now here we are in New York ready to do our first Worlds together.

“It’s definitely a little bit of a who’s who on the registration list so I try not to look at that too much to keep the nerves down! Fortunately, Ross MacDonald of Bribon has been coaching us for the last year and has been exceptionally generous donating his time. I think at the end of the day it’s very much just about treating this like a normal regatta and then when it’s over I’ll probably take a deep breath and realise who was beside me on the starting line and I’ll hopefully realise I didn’t mess up too much!”

This is a development class and Dennis Conner has never shied away from trying something new, as his tactician Chris Poole, himself a top match racer, explains: “He’s got a really interesting design, we’ve got a new boat and our designer is here with us, and Dennis is really excited to see how it goes against the other moderns. We’ve definitely taken a step away from the traditional Six Metre lines, as far as within the rules will allow, and so we potentially have a really quick boat in certain conditions. Dennis is just really looking forward to finding out where she’s strong and where she might need to be even faster.”

There is a strong entry from local teams who are delighted to see the fleet back at its historic US home, as Bill Mooney of USA40 Saleema, a 1928 Clinton H Crane design, explains: “It is so great for us at Seawanhaka to have the Six Metres back here. This has been going on for more than 100 years and to have everybody back here this year is so exciting for us, and we are so honoured to get to host this again. It’s been I think 38 years since we last had the Worlds, and there are a number of boats that have come that have not been back here for many years. The boat I’m sailing was originally a Seawanhaka boat back in 1928, she left right away in 1928 and has not been back since. We are so happy to have her and several others back here. The camaraderie among everybody is amazing, we haven’t even started yet and everybody is already having a great time together. We’ve got Dennis Conner, we’ve got Chris Poole, we’ve got the King of Spain, Jamie Hilton will be here and he’s the current champion. And to have all of them want to come here is a real thrill for us.”

With teams travelling from as far afield as Greece, Finland, the British Virgin Islands, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Canada it truly is an international cast. Heading the Canadian team is Peter Wealick, racing SUI115 Max’Inux with his daughter, who commented: “I am looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. The racing venue is beautiful, and the weather looks promising. I am racing with my daughter this week and we are enormously proud to represent the indigenous people of Canada at the regatta.” To find out more about the sailors competing check out the full Crew List.

Racing will be run under the supervision of International Race Officer Shannon Bush who heads up the SCYC team. The forecast for the regatta is for light airs, and when asked about what the competitors could expect on the water she explained: “Long Island Sound is going to be super tricky this week. The sailors will have to do their homework. We’re out in the middle of the Sound, so that takes away a lot of the physical shoreline influence, and we’re going to try and stay away from the super deep or super shallow areas. And it’s like any other sailing event – you’ve got to stay in pressure and stay on the right tack!”

So, picking the winners is not easy. In the Open Division there are the known quantities like Laurence Clerc’s SUI77 Junior, skippered by the legendary Nicolas Berthoud and Henrik Andersin’s 2022 Oiva comes to the regatta as reigning European Champion. And one would be unwise to count out Basil Vasiliou’s USA105 Jane Ann or the Greek team of Foti Lykiardopulo sailing GRE1 Aera. But with three brand new boats racing – Dennis Conner’s ESP33, Rainer Mülller’s SUI144 Eau Vive being sailed by reigning World Champion Jamie Hilton, and Dieter Schoen’s new Momo II – it really is anyone’s championship.

n the Classics, His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain’s ESP16 Bribon, and ISMA Chairman Louis Heckly’s FRA11 Fun will go head-to-head once again, but they face stiff competition. One should never underestimate Mauricio Sanchez-Bella’s ESP72 Titia, and then there’s the unknown quantity of the young bloods aboard SUI112 Ca Va, who might surprise everyone. And we cannot discount the beautiful USA56 Jill, built in 1931 and recently restored under the new ownership of renowned Italian sailor Alessandro Maria Rinaldi of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. And perhaps one of our centenarians will prevail with 1922’s USA14 SYCE, and 1924’s USA21 Madcap both keen to prove that age is just a number.

Racing is due to get underway at 11:30 on Monday 22 September and continues until Friday 26 September, with eight races scheduled and five races required to validate a championship.

You can follow the latest news on the ISMA’s Instagram and Facebook channels and via 6metre.com.

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HM King Juan Carlos of Spain Presents New Trophy at 2025 Six Metre World Championships Opening Ceremony

September 20, 2025 fionabrown Leave a comment

Teams prepare to race for the 2025 International Six Metre World Championships from 22 to 26 September
Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club welcome the competitors in style with a spectacular sunset Opening Ceremony
His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain gifts a brand-new perpetual trophy to be presented to the winner of the Classic Six Metre Worlds, the Copa Rey Juan Carlos

20 September 2025 – Oyster Bay, NY, USA – The Opening Ceremony for the 2025 International Six Metre Open and Classic World Championships saw the 29 participating teams from nine nations gather on the waterside lawn of the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club (SCYC) for a delightful evening of camaraderie, generous hospitality and a very special presentation by the reigning Six Metre Classic World Champion, His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain.

Proceedings got underway with welcomes from SCYC Regatta Chair Hugh Jones and SCYC Commodore Robert W. Fagiola, who paid tribute to the historic connections between the club and the Six Metres, which go right back to the 1920s. He also thanked the competitors for travelling to Oyster Bay for this first SCYC based championship since 1987 and wished everyone great sailing and great fun.

International Six Metre Association (ISMA) President Louis Heckly responded, thanking the SCYC for their warm welcome and all their hard work in making the event possible, and he echoed Robert’s thanks to the sailors for being here. He then asked His Majesty King Juan Carlos to join him on the stage.

Three-time Classic Six Metre World Champion and reigning Classic World and European Champion, His Majesty’s commitment to the class is exceptional and has seen him play a key role in revitalising the Six Metre fleet in Spain. His surprise announcement to the gathered fleet was the presentation of a spectacular new perpetual trophy, the Copa Rey Juan Carlos, which will be presented to the winner of the Classic Six Metre World Championship, alongside the historic Djinn Trophy.

The stunning new trophy, a large, embellished silver cup, was personally commissioned by His Majesty, who was also directly involved in the preparation of its Deed of Gift. In accepting the new trophy on behalf of ISMA, Louis Heckly not only thanked His Majesty for his most generous gift, but also took a moment to share a joke with him. The two men have been vying for the Classic Six Metre World title for several years now, with his Majesty currently having won it three times and Louis once. Louis jokingly laid down a challenge that the very first name engraved on the King’s new trophy will be that of his own FRA11 Fun – a challenge the King naturally accepted!

For the sailors the evening was a chance to catch up with old friends and make new ones, as they enjoyed the hospitality for which SCYC is world renowned. The Opening Ceremony was followed by an informal club buffet supper and as the sky put on a spectacular sunset display the teams looked forward to an exciting competition ahead.

Twenty-nine boats from seven nations will challenge for the championships, with 17 racing for the Open Championship’s Six Metre World Cup Trophy, and 12 for the new Copa Rey Juan Carlos. The newest boats racing have both been launched just in time for this event – Rainer Müller’s new Ian Howlett designed SUI144 Eau Vive, which is being raced this week by defending Open World Champion Jamie Hilton of the New York YC, and 2022 World Champion Dieter Schoen’s Judel/Vrolijk designed IBV145 Momo II, sailing for the Royal BVI Yacht Club, both of which are fresh out of the box. Whilst the oldest boats racing, both over 100 years old, will be USA14 SYCE, which was built in 1922 to a John G Alden design and is raced by Robert and Farley Towse of the New York Yacht Club, and SCYC Regatta Chairman’s Hugh Jones and Russell Byers’ USA21 Madcap, a 1924 Fredrick M Hoyt design.

Racing for the championships will get underway on Monday 22 September and continue until Friday 26, with up to eight races scheduled. You will find a full entry list here, and can follow updates via the ISMA Facebook and Instagram pages and at 6metre.com.

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International Six Metres In Final Countdown To 2025 World Championships

August 21, 2025 fionabrown Leave a comment

Oyster Bay, USA – 21 August 2025 – With just a month to go until the start of the 2025 International Six Metre World Championships at Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club (SCYC), boats are starting to converge on Long Island Sound, NY in preparation. The Open and Classic Six Metre World Championships will run concurrently from 22 to 26 September with at least 30 teams travelling from across North America and Europe to participate.

The crews from Greece, Canada, Germany, Sardinia, Spain, Switzerland, France, The British Virgin Islands, California, the Pacific Northwest and along the US Eastern Seaboard will compete for seventeen historic and prestigious trophies, including the stunning Six Metre World Cup Trophy, which was presented to the class in 1973 by the Puget Sound Six Metre Association and the Port of Seattle.

SCYC’s links to the Six Metre Class go back over a century and the class is delighted to be returning once again to this historically important venue, as International Six Metre Association President Louis Heckly explains:

“Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club has a long and illustrious association with the Six Metre Class and so we are delighted to see our beloved yachts returning to Oyster Bay and Long Island Sound for this year’s Worlds. With its beautiful waterside clubhouse, well-deserved reputation for excellent race management and superb hospitality, we know we are in good hands at SCYC and look forward to a fantastic week both afloat and ashore. I am also delighted to note that thirty teams have already registered with a month to go, and that the fleet is split very evenly between the Open and Classic divisions. With the arrival of many newcomers in the Class, including three brand new boats, I look forward to some great competition and plenty of fun!”

Registration and measurement checks for the regatta will open on Wednesday 17 September and continue until Friday 19 September. Practice racing is scheduled for Saturday September 20, and Championship racing will take place from Sunday 22 to Friday 26 September, with up to 8 races scheduled. The extensive social programme will commence with an Opening Reception and Competitor Briefing on Saturday 20 September and will conclude with the Championship Prize Giving on Friday 26 September. Further information can be found at 2025.6metreworlds.com.

Open Championship Contenders

At any Six Metre Championship we can expect competition to be fierce and this year we have three brand new boats racing in their very first championship, making it even harder to predict who might claim the Open Championship victor’s laurels.

Reigning Open World Champion Jamie Hilton, who claimed the title off Cowes in 2023 aboard USA126 Scoundrel, will be racing Rainer Müller’s brand-new Ian Howlett designed SUI144 Eau Vive, and tells us how he comes to be sailing this new boat:

“The Scoundrel team was looking for a Six Metre to charter or borrow for the 2025 Worlds. I had chartered Scoundrel in 2022 and 2023, and the charter had run its course. The team had grown enamoured with the Six Metre Class and the people who sail them.

“Last winter good fortune connected me with Rainer Müller. After several conversations Rainer and I decided to combine the new boat project he’d started with Ian Howlett and boat builder Matt Lingley of Demon Yachts with the Scoundrel crew and me.

“Suffice to say, we are all very excited to have the honour of sailing Ian’s latest creation. Eau Vive is as gorgeous as all of Ian’s boats. Matt built a boat that is absolutely first rate in every detail. Rainer over saw the whole project with an experienced and watchful eye. Now it’s up to the crew of Eau Vive – Addison Caproni, Dave Hughes, Mike Marshall and me – to get all we can out of her at Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club in the 2025 World Championship.

“Speaking for the former Scoundrel now Eau Vive crew, we are honoured to be part of this project. We understand the long history of Six Metre sailing at SCYC, and the many legendary names who have sailed Sixes there over the years. We hope we can get all of Eau Vive’s enormous potential out her as the field of competition will be fierce this September!”

The second new boat will be Dennis Conner’s latest Javi Cela design, which is a development of his very successful Ginkgo Too. Dennis last sailed in a Six Metre Worlds in 2017 in Vancouver, where he raced USA87 May Be VII to fourteenth place. He has been racing the boat out of San Diego for the past couple of months and the international fleet is eagerly anticipating the chance to line up against Dennis and his crew in this new boat.

The third brand new boat will be Dieter Schoen’s IVB145 Momo II, a Judel/Vrolijk design only being launched just in time for this regatta. Typically, one would say it takes a couple of seasons to get a Six Metre fully up to speed, but in their original Momo, also a Judel/Vrolijk design, this team won the 2022 World Champion fresh out of the box in Sanxenxo, so one would be a fool to underestimate them.

Travelling from Finland comes the reigning European Open Six Metre Champion, Henrik Andersin’s Allan Savolainen designed FIN81 Oiva, which was built by Red Sky Yachts. Launched just in time for the last World Championship in Cowes, she finished that regatta in 13^th place, but this super strong team brought the boat on in leaps and bounds, and in 2024 they won the European Championship in Sanxenxo, making them another strong contender for this year’s World title.

Whilst the arrival of new boats is always exciting, one of the great strengths of the Six Metre Class is the longevity of the boats. One boat to always look out for in the Open Division is the legendary SUI77 Junior, also owned by Rainer Müller, which was designed by Pelle Petterson and built by Båtbyggarna Ab in 1981 for Baron Edmond de Rothschild, which is widely regarded as one of the most successful Sixes of all time with five World Championship wins to her name. She also enters the regatta as the defending Corinthian Open World Champion, so is definitely one to watch.

A strong contingent of some eleven boats will be travelling across North America from the Pacific Northwest, including five boats from Canada. In the Open Class, Erin Parker’s USA125 Tempest, designed by Sparkman & Stephens, built by Eric Goetz Custom and launched in 1986, is a mainstay of the Pacific Northwest Fleet and we can expect a strong showing from this hugely committed team.

Classic Championship Contenders

Challenging for the Classic Six Metre World Championship will be some of the most beautiful and elegant race boats in the world. But don’t be fooled by all that gleaming varnish and polished brass, the Classics are raced every bit as hard as their Open counterparts and no quarter will be given in what promises to be a fierce competition.

The hot favourite for the Classic title has to be the reigning Six Metre Classic World Champion His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain, who will defend his title aboard the Arvid Laurin designed ESP16 Bribon, which was built by Plym in Neglinge, Sweden for Harry Nystrom in 1947. She underwent a significant rebuilt at Eric Jespersen Boatbuilders in the mid 2000s, and in 2009 she won her first Classic World Championship, skippered by Eric Jespersen, who was crewed by both his father and his son. His Majesty took over the boat in 2017, winning his first Worlds in her in Vancouver that year, his second in Hanko in 2019 and his third in Cowes in 2023. Bribon is also the reigning Classic European Champion, so this is definitely the boat to beat.

The oldest boat competing and one of the very latest to enter, is Robert & Farley Towse’s USA14 SYCE. Designed by John G Alden, built by G Lawley & Son of Massachusetts and launched in 1922, SYCE’s last World Championship outing was in 2009 at Newport, RI. At 103 years old Syce may be the grand dame of the regatta, but she can still put in a great performance on the day.

The second oldest boat will be USA21 Madcap, which was designed by Frederick M Hoyt, the renowned America’s Cup helm, yacht designer and sailing broadcaster, and built by the Henry B Nevins of City Island, New York. Launched in 1924 she has been beautifully restored and maintained and still puts in a racing performance that belies her 101 years under the leadership of local Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club members Hugh Jones and Russell Byers.

Also fast approaching her centenary is Willets Meyer and William Mooney’s USA40 Saleema, which was launched in 1928 and is another Nevins boat, this time designed by the unrelated Frederick M Hoyt. Saleema narrowly lost the 1928 Seawanahaka International Challenge Cup to Figaro V when Hoyt took the boat to Sweden. When she returned to the USA after may races throughout the Nordics, the boat went to California at the end of the 1928 season and has not been back to Seawanahaka in 97 years, so it is exciting that she will once again race for Seawanhaka CYC.

From Spain comes Mauricio Sanchez-Bella’s stunning ESP72 Titia, which was designed by David Boyd and built in 1952 by Woodnuts in Bembridge, Isle of Wight, UK, for Sir Kenneth Preston and Robert Steele, to represent Great Britain at the 1952 Olympics. In the 1960s she came under Canadian ownership with Fred Brock, and she raced from the Rothsay Yacht Club for many years, before being sold to Nantucket in the early ‘70s. She was discovered by Matt Cockburn and brought to Cornwall in the UK, where she was beautifully restored by Brian Pope and Andy Postle. At her first post restoration outing in 2006 she won the French Classic Championships, winning six of the nine races. A regular podium finisher at major championships Mauricio will be hoping that this is finally the year he can engrave his name on the Classic Worlds trophy.

Matt Brooks will be racing the stunningly restored USA55 Lucie. Launched in 1931 by Nevins to Clinton H Crane’s final and arguably best Six Metre design for legendary America’s Cup Skipper Briggs Cunningham, Lucie was part of victorious US Teams in the 1932, 1934 and 1936 British American Cups. After a successful 75-year racing career she was rebuilt to match her original construction, which included shellac between her double planked hull, by Brion Rieff’s boatyard in Maine. Matt Brooks purchased Lucie in 2011 and oversaw the completion of her restoration in time to ship her to Helsinki for the 2011 World Championship, where she finished in sixth place and won the Baum + Koenig Trophy for the highest placing boat with a wood mast and Dacron sails.

International Six Metre Association President Louis Heckly will be racing his Olin Stephens designed FRA11 Fun, which was built by Nevins in 1937 and was also part of the 1938 winning USA Team in the 1938 British American Cup. Louis won the 2022 Classic World Championship in Sanxenxo aboard his previous Six, Dix Aout, and finished fifth sailing Fun at last year’s Classic European Championship, so will definitely have his eyes set on a podium finish this time around.

Click here for the latest entry list

Further information about the International Six Metre Class can be found at www.6metre.com