Press Release – 1 October 2019 – London, England – The International Six Metre Class Association (ISMA) is delighted to announce the launch of a ground breaking online class archive at 6metrearchive.org

The Six Metre Class has a long and illustrious history dating back to the introduction of the International Rule in 1907. That history encompasses inclusion in nine Olympic Games from 1908 to 1952, the heyday of the class in the 1920s and 30s when it was perhaps the largest and strongest class in the world and acting as a trial platform for 12 Metre America’s Cup developments from the late 1950s until the late 1980s. Even the very latest Six Metres continue to push the technical development envelope, and a review of Six Metre designs gives a fascinating insight into some of yacht racing’s most radical and important developments.

Recognising that they are the custodians of, and therefore responsible for, a great deal of valuable yachting history, the ISMA members agreed to develop a project to help celebrate and improve access to their heritage. Being an international class, the archive material documenting this rich history is spread all over the world and can be difficult to find. Some is also potentially vulnerable to becoming lost, damaged or forgotten.

In response to these concerns, work was begun at the beginning of 2018 to create the International Six Metre Online Archive. The class has now developed a brand-new website to gather together and digitally preserve these materials.

6metrearchive.org aims to a) locate and digitise the existing archives, b) bring the material together as one resource, c) make it accessible online to all and d) continue to update the archive long term to ensure it remains a current and viable resource.

Creating an accessible and comprehensive online archive requires significant financial investment and specialist technical expertise. The new site has been funded entirely by generous donations from individuals and further donations are sought to help continue the work. Anyone interested in helping to fund the project should contact ISMA Executive Secretary Tim Russell on secretary@6metre.org.

For the archive project to succeed a heritage professional was needed and in Jenny Wittamore the class found the perfect candidate. A professional freelance curator and maritime collections specialist, Jenny has extensive experience in the field including eleven years as a Curator at the National Maritime Museum in Cornwall.

Delivering a website that meets the complex technical needs of the project and is accessible to all also required specialist professionals.  The team at Thirty8 Digital works with museums of all sizes across the UK, including the National Portrait Gallery, the Government Art Collection, Jewish Museum and the Wellcome Collection, and brings the perfect combination of technical ability and design flair. 6metrearchive.org is designed to be fresh, clear and easy to navigate, both for people with a casual interest and serious researchers.

With the foundations in place the hard work of finding and collating material has now begun. Already Jenny has been in contact with hundreds of Six Metre owners, sailors, enthusiasts, designers and boat builders who have submitted materials for inclusion in the archive. Profiles are being developed for each of the boats – more than 1200 in total – and there are sections dedicated to race results, digitised archives, general class history and stories of the Sixes, all meticulously cross referenced and linked.

But this is an ongoing project and community collaboration will be the key to its further development and success.  The more people that use the archive site and add their material and knowledge, the better it will be.

We would encourage anyone familiar with the Six Metre fleet to visit 6metrearchive.org, and anyone with Six Metre documents, photographs, results, publications or stories is asked to submit them. Enquiries, corrections and constructive criticisms are also very much welcomed. All enquiries should be directed to ISMA Archivist Jenny Wittamore on archivist@6metrearchive.org.

The 2020 International 6 Metre European Championship will take place in Sanxenxo on Spain’s stunning Galician coast from 11 to 18 September 2020.

Registration, measurement and the tune-up races will take place from 11 to 13 September. The championship races will take place over the five days 14 – 18 September, with a closing ceremony on 19 September.

For those who are not already familiar with Sanxenxo, it is an absolutely stunning sailing venue on the north east coast of Spain.  The town itself is a popular and very smart holiday town with excellent accommodation options, a wide range of restaurants and bars, terrific shopping and glorious sandy beaches.

The Real Club Nautico de Sanxenxo is one of Spain’s premier yacht clubs, located in a spectacular modern purpose built harbour-side clubhouse with its own restaurant and marina facilities.

Weather-wise you can expect daytime temperatures in the mid-twenty degrees celsius, lots of sunshine and perfect 6 Metre sailing breezes.

Further information about the regatta will be published shortly but please save the date and to find out more about the venue visit www.rcnsanxenxo.com

The minutes of the 2019 International Six Metre Association Annual General Meeting held in Hanko, Finland on Wednesday 7th August 2019 are now available to view online.

Sadly the final day of racing at the 2019 Sinebrychoff 6 Metre World Championship in Hanko was blighted by light winds for the second day running and no racing was possible. Fortunately six of the eight programmed races had been completed and the winners of the Championship could be declared.

2019 Sinebrychoff International 6 Metre World Champion was confirmed as Philippe Durr helming SUI77 Junior, crewed by Nicholas Berthoud, Kaspar Schadegg, Yann Marillet and Alexandre Nicole. The competition had been fierce and at the final prize giving a delighted Philippe Durr paid tribute to his fellow competitors and in particular to second placed Patrick Monteiro de Barros, sailing POR4 Seljm, crewed by Henrique Anjos, Gasto Brun, Joao Matos Rosa and Rodrigo Vantacich, and third placed Hugo Stenbeck helming SUI132 Sophie Racing with Martin Westerdahl, Bernardo Freitas, Lars Linger and Concalo Ribeiro, who finished the regatta on equal points with Durr and only lost out to him on countback.

His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain’s ESP Bribon Gallant, helmed jointly by His Majesty and Pedro Campos and crewed by Inaqui Castaner, Alberto Viejo, Ropi Alvarez and Ross MacDonald, safely defended her Classic 6 Metre Worlds title by a seven point margin. As His Majesty and the team came to the stage to collect the prestigious Djinn Trophy there were rousing cheers and hearty applause as the King’s fellow competitors recognised the incredible achievement of this 81 year young sailor who only took up serious 6 Metre sailing in 2017 and has already won the European Championship and now two World titles. Second place in the Classic Division went to FIN67 Djinn helmed by Karl-Gustav Pihl and crewed by Georg Tallberg, Thomas Castre’n, Oscar Andersin and Hema Virkunen. Championship Regatta Chairman Ossi Paija and his local crew of Thomas Hallberg, Jonas Renlund, Sam Fagerlund and Kimmo Vijamaa sailing FIN80 Astree III took the final step on the podium in the Classic Division.

There are also a number of special trophies awarded at the 6 Metre Worlds and the first of these to be presented was the Lucie Trophy, for the highest placed boat with a female crew member. This year’s winner was not only a crew member, but also the only female helm in the competition. Violeta Alvarez was deservedly delighted to receive the trophy which not only recognised her own impressive achievement, but also that of her crew and her boat. Stella is the most recent 6 Metre constructed and this was her first international championship. Designed by Juan-K and first launched in 2017 the revolutionary design initially took time to optimise and master, but this week she signalled loud and clear that she has the ability to perform consistently well in both windy and light conditions, finishing the championship fifth overall – no mean achievement in a fleet of this exceptional quality.

The Baum & Konig Trophy for the highest placing boat in the Classic division with wood spars, white sails and a racing flag, and the KSSS Cup for the highest placed boat built to the first or second edition of the 6 Metre rule was won by US55 Lucie, helmed by Craig Healy of the St Francis Yacht Club. Built in 1931 to a Clinton H Crane design at the Henry B Nevins Boatyard in New York for the legendary America’s Cup skipper Briggs Cunningham who raced her to considerable success. She was fully restored by Matt Brooks just in time for the 2011 6 Metre Worlds in Helsinki and is without doubt one of the most beautiful classic sixes sailing today.

The Nelson Trophy for the highest placed boat designed between 1966 and 1979 was won by Canadian Adam Henley’s KS7 Toogooloowoo V, a 1970 Sparkman & Stephens design which is of particular interest as a first concept of trying to separate the rudder and keel. She was initially very successful but was quickly overtaken by newer boats during this period of very rapid design progress in the class.

The final formal presentation was of the Astor Cup, which is awarded to the highest placed boat with a crew member aged 25 years or younger, which this year went to Peter Harrison’s K12 St Francis IX, helmed by Andy Beadsworth and crewed by Colin Murray, Jana Zimmerhakl, Vince Bartlett and Misky Torvar.

In closing the prize giving, Race Officer Mikael Lindquist thanked the competitors for travelling from around the world to Hanko to compete and for being such wonderful competitors. The sailors in turn showed their genuine appreciation for the terrific job that Mikael and his team from the Hangö Segelförening have done in running the event despite the at times very challenging conditions.

And so the 2019 Sinebrychoff 6 Metre World Championship came to a close and the sailors set off on their journeys home with great memories of races sailed, stories told and friendships made and with happy smiles on their faces. The next international championship for the class will be the 2020 6 Metre European Championship, to be hosted by the Real Nautico de Sanxenxo on Spain’s spectacular Galician coast during the last two weeks of August 2020. Further details about the regatta will be published shortly at http://www.6metre.com.

As the boats left the dock for the fourth day of competition at the 2019 Sinebrychoff 6 Metre World Championship in Hanko, Finland, there was a palpable sense of tension and anticipation. Ahead of the competitors lay two final races to decide the winner of the Open Division, with the leading three boats, Philippe Durr’s SUI Junior, Patrick Monteiro de Barros’s POR4 Seljm and Hugo Stenbeck’s SUI132 Sophie Racing all holding 15 points apiece and Henrik Andersin’s FIN78 Evalina just a single point behind them. A final show down of epic proportions was hotly anticipated!

As the boats docked out a light southerly breeze took them down to the race area where the committee was set up and ready to go for race seven of the eight race series. There was an initial slight postponement to allow the wind to settle, but then off the Open Division boats went in a steady 5-6 knots. The breeze held in for the Classic Division start and all was looking good.

At the Open Division’s first windward mark Richard Goransson’s SWE137 Inga From Sweden VIII headed the fleet from Sophie Racing with Seljm third. Junior rounded in 11th place, but the pack was tightly bunched so it was all still to play for.

They came down the run and as they passed through the up-bound Classics fleet the wind began to drop, but with no significant current to worry about the boats were all still making reasonable progress and they were able to round the leeward gate and head back upwind behind the Classics. Seljm now led from Inga From Sweden VIII with Sophie Racing third and Junior up into tenth.

Meanwhile in the Classics His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain’s ESP16 Bribon Gallant was busy giving the fleet a master class in light airs sailing, carefully picking her way up the tricky first beat in impressive style. But as Bribon Gallant approached the first mark the wind began to drop and before long the entire fleet was barely ghosting along. Bribon Gallant, Louis Heckley’s FRA111 Dix Août and Eric Jespersen’s USA81 Goose were among a small group that made it around the weather mark, but others were now struggling to keep momentum. Before long everyone was becalmed.

The Race Committee held out as long as it possibly could in the hope that the wind would return, but eventually it was forced to admit defeat, abandon both fleets and call them back to the start area to await breeze. But it was a hopeless case and eventually the A over N signal flags were hoisted and the fleet sent home for the day.

The rules of the 6 Metre World Championship are very traditional in that they allow for a reserve day at the end of the regatta, which can be used if any of the races remain to be sailed. That clause has now been invoked and so the Championship will continue on Friday 9 August when it is hoped that the final two races can be completed.

One of the wonderful features of the regatta has been the excellent social programme supported by event sponsor Sinebrychoff. Despite the fact that the regatta will now continue for an extra day, the planned Sinebrychoff 6 Metre World Championship Gala Dinner went ahead as plannrd, allowing the crews to come together for a wonderful traditional formal dinner at the spectacular waterside art deco Hanko Casino. Whilst it may not have been possible to present the silverware, nothing stops the 6 Metre fleet enjoying a good party!

The forecast for Friday’s final racing day is unfortunately for further light winds. Race Officer Mikael Lindqvist and his team will be watching the forecasts extremely closely and will update the competitors on their hopes for the final races at the 09.00 competitor briefing in the morning.