Due to strong winds, big seas and poor visibility no racing is possible on the final day of the International Six Metre European Championship 2024 Trofeo Xacobeo, and so we are delighted to announce that our 2024 European Champions are:
Open Six Metre European Champions 2024 – FIN81 Oiva (2022 designer Allan Savolainen), skippered by Henrik Andersin and crewed by Robert Nyberg, Jacob Granqvist, Theis Palm and the boat’s designer Allan Savolainen, sailing for Nylandska JK.
2024 International Six Metre Classic European Champion ESP16 Bribon
Classic Six Metre European Champions 2024 – ESP16 Bribon (1947 designer Arvid Laurin), skippered by His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain and crewed by Alejandro Abascal, Ross Macdonald, Lino Perez, Roy Alvarez and Eduardo Marin Lasheras, sailing for the RCN Sanxenxo.
In the Open Division our podium is completed by:
2024 International Six Metre Open European Silver Medallist GBR89 Battlecry
Open Division Silver Medallist GBR89 Battlecry (1988 designer Ian Howlett), skippered by Jeremy Thorp and crewed by Pedro Costa, Philip Parry, Wouter Stipout and Joao Matos, sailing for the Royal Yacht Squadron.
2024 International Six Metre Open European Bronze Medallist SUI77 Junior
Open Division Bronze Medallist SUI77 Junior (1981 designer Pelle Petterson), owned by Rainer Muller, skippered by Loic Forestier and crewed by Mathieu Fischer, Yann Marilley, Kaspar Schadegg and Nicolas Berthoud, sailing for SN de Geneve.
In the Classic Division our podium is completed by:
2024 International Six Metre Classic European Silver Medallist FIN80 Astree III
Classic Division Silver Medallist FIN80 Astree III (1959 Bjarn Aas) skippered by Ossi Paija and crewed by Thomas Hallberg, Sam Fauerlaund, Heikki Pulse and Kimmo Viljamaa, sailing for the Nylandska JK.
2024 International Six Metre Classic European Bronze Medallist ESP72 Titia
Classic Division Bronze Medallist ESP72 Titia (1952 designer David Boyd) skippered by Mauricio Sanchez-Bella Carswell, and crewed by Alicia Freire Vazquez, Pepe Lis Santos, Francisco Gonzalez Sanchez and Gerardo Preto Menor, sailing for the RCN Sanxenxo.
The Gala Prize Giving Dinner will take place at the Real Club Nautico de Sanxenxo this evening and we will have a full report for you including confirmation of all our special division winners and photos later.
The sun finally came out on day five of the International Six Metre European Championships 2024 Trofeo Xacobeo, where it was all change on the leaderboards as races six and seven of the eight race series were completed for both Open and Classic Divisions and the single scoring discard came into play.
Once again there was an initial postponement as the visibility improved and the wind filled in. But the wait was worth it and both races were run in a light and pleasantly warm, if rather shifty, six to eight knot south westerly. After the wet and windy conditions earlier in the regatta it was a welcome change of pace for the teams.
In the Open Division new faces came to the fore and the overnight leaders both struggled. Henrik Andersin’s Oiva (2022 Allan Savolainen) took a second and third place to bounce up from third into a five-point overall lead. Jeremy Thorp’s Battlecry (1988 Ian Howlett) went into the day in fifth and added a pair of fifths to his card, so now sits in second place. A single point behind him is Rainer Muller’s Junior (1981 Pelle Petterson), skippered by Loic Forestier, who drops out of the lead after a seventh and eighth place.
Defending Open Division Champion Dieter Schoen’s Momo (2022 Judel Vrolijk) hasn’t had the best of weeks so far, but she found form again today to win race six and take second in race seven, putting her into fourth overall but on equal points with Junior. Also off her usual pace was Violeta Alvarez’s Stella (2017 Juan Kouyoumdjian), who could manage no better than a sixth and eighth so drops from second into fifth, a point behind Junior and Momo. The day’s other race winner was Nick and Fotis Lykiardopolou’s Aera (1988 Pelle Petterson) who scored a fourth and then won race seven to end the day in sixth overall.
A pre-start port/starboard incident between Eugenio Galdon Brugarolas’ Maybe XIV and Basil Vasiliou’s Jane Ann, skippered by Steffan Lindberg, sadly saw Jane Ann holed above the waterline. Maybe XIV retired from the race and the Jury awarded Jane Ann average points, which means she sadly drops down from fourth overall to sixth.
Back ashore Henrik Andersin was delighted with Oiva’s performance. “Today was a very challenging day, and we didn’t have much wind. It’s weird hanging around for a long time. We really thought it was a hard sail. I think the feeling in the Open Class is just great. We are helping each other, and we support each other. So, it’s going great. And I think also our crew is very happy!”
In the Classic Division His Majesty King Juan Carlos’ Bribon (1947 Arvin Laurin) took an eighth in race six, which she immediately discarded, followed by a fourth in race seven, which was just sufficient to allow her to retain the overall Classic Division lead. However, Ossi Paija’s Astree II (1959 Bjarn Aas) fared much better with a pair of second places and now sits just a single point behind Bribon.
Ten points behind in third place of the Classics is Mauricio Sanchez-Bella Carswell’s Titia (1952 David Boyd) after a pair of seventh places. But the boat of the day in the Classics fleet was without doubt Francisco Botas’ Aida (1931 Alfred Mylne), skippered by Javier De La Gandara Alonso, which put in a stunning performance to win both races and move into fourth overall, four points ahead of Louis Heckly’s Fun (1937 Olin Stephens), which had added fourth and ninth to her card, dropping one place down the ranking.
Diego Fernandez of Aida explained that the conditions played a big part in their double race victory. “It was a light wind day which the boat enjoys. We hit the right shifts. We had a good start and steady racing. We got quite a lot right, and the boat was going very well, very fast. After days of strong wind, big waves, days when the boat wasn’t going well, we were a little bit stressed and the truth is that today the boat was going very well in light wind, and the crew were delighted. Today is the special type of day when everything comes together, to do two firsts everything has to be perfect, otherwise the others will beat you. It’s incredibly tough racing, all good boats, good helms, good trimmers, very tough. We’re all very close together and you have to stick your head out metre by metre.”
With a single race left to complete on the final day of the competition the rankings in both Divisions remain wide open. The forecast for the last day is tricky to read to say the least. Torrential rain is more of less guaranteed, and the wind will be between south and southwest, but the wind strength could be anything from six to thirty knots. Fortunately, both the Real Club Nautico de Sanxenxo’s Race Committee and the sailors are up for the challenge and so we look forward to a spectacular final show down.
Additional information about the 2024 International Six Metre European Championships is available at 6meuropeans2024.com. You can follow the regatta action online at:
The weather gods have not been making life easy for the sailors of the International Six Metre European Championships 2024 Trofeo Xacobeo in Sanxenxo. After three very tricky days with low visibility and lots of rain but good wind, day four was the opposite with dry conditions but barely a breath of wind, so the scheduled race six could not take place. Five races have so far been completed and three races remain to be sailed between now and Saturday 6 September. The single discard comes into play once race six has been completed, which could shake things up considerably.
Race Officer Jano Martin explained the Race Committee’s thinking as they look ahead to the final two days of the regatta. “The forecasts are changing every day. The view we see now looking ahead to tomorrow may change overnight and again tomorrow morning, so it is difficult to predict. If there is a chance, we will try to complete two races tomorrow.”.
In the overall standings His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain’s ESP16 Bribon continues to lead the Classics Division from Ossi Paija’s FIN80 Astree II with Mauricio Sanchez-Bella Carswell’s ESP72 Titia third, Miguel Lago Cereceda’s ESP50 Alibaba II fourth and Louis Heckly’s FRA11 Fun fifth.
In the Open Division Rainer Muller’s SUI77 Junior, skippered by Loic Forestier and Violeta Alvarez’ ESP116 Stella are tied at the top of the leader board with Henrik Andersin’s FIN81 Oiva a point behind them. Tied for fourth and just four points behind the leaders are Basil Vasiliou’s USA105 Jane Ann, skippered by Steffan Lindberg, and Jeremy Thorp’s GBR89 Battlecry. With so much to play for, the sailors are all praying that the weather gods smile on them at last tomorrow.
Luckily for the sailors, the Real Club Nautico de Sanxeno and surrounding area are a delightful place to hang out, with many great restaurants and bars and superb shops, so the sailors were able to make the most of their afternoon once the decision not to race had been confirmed.
Whilst of course the sailing is the primary focus of the championship, these international events are also a wonderful opportunity to appreciate the longevity and beauty of this extraordinary class.
The oldest boat sailing this week is Cesar Elizaga’s FIN59 Ian, which was built in Gothenburgh, Sweden in 1929 and was the last boat designed by Gustav Estlander, who had her built for his own use. She was a successful boat and won the coveted Scandinavian Gold Cup in 1930. She continued racing in Sweden under various owners until 1988, when after 60 years under the Swedish Flag she was sold to Finland. She raced regularly for a decade before beginning a complete refurbishment in 2003. She was relaunched for the 2007 racing season having been restored back to her original state. In 2015 she made the move south to Sanxenxo where she has played a pivotal role in developing the new Galician fleet.
At the other end of the spectrum, the newest boat racing is Henrik Andersin’s 2022 Allan Savolainen designed Oiva, which was built by Red Sky Yachts in Finland. Andersin is an experienced Six Metre sailor, having owned a number of both classic and modern sixes over the years. The story of the construction of Oiva is told in a six-part series of articles which are available on the International Six Metre Archive.
The Six Metre Class dates back to 1907, and the introduction of the International Rule, also known as the Metre Rule. It has been at the forefront of technical innovation for over 120 years with the world’s top designers and sailors bringing often radical concepts and technical excellence to the fleet. But alongside the incredible technical development and the amazing racing history of many of the boats, there are also dozens of wonderful personal stories of sailors and their families simply enjoying their Sixes for pleasure. A message via the class Facebook page this week has reminded us of the special place Sixes hold in so many people’s hearts.
Alibaba II was designed and built in Sweden in 1948 by Tore Holm, under whose helmsmanship she won a bronze medal for Sweden at that year’s Olympics. In 1951 she was sold to Harry Melander, and it was Harry’s daughter Lisa who reached out to say how thrilled she was to see the boat still racing successfully 76 years after she was built. Lisa told us that she well remembers sailing with her father and family to Åland in the Swedish archipelago during the summer holidays. Under various names and ownerships Alibaba II has had an extraordinary sailing career to date. She won a second bronze Olympic medal in 1952, came second in the 1998 European Championship, won the 1999 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship. Now based in Sanxenxo she continues to be one of the top performing Classic Six Metres.
To find out more about the history of the Six Metre Class and the boats racing this week, please visit the International Six Metre Archive, where individual boat profiles and a host of fascinating technical and historic data is to be found. If you have additional information that you feel would be of interest to the archive, please contact the Archivist on archivist@6metrearchive.org.
Racing at the International Six Metre European Championship 2024 Trofeo Xacobeo at the Real Club Nautico de Sanxenxo continues until Saturday 5 September with three races remaining to be sailed in the eight-race series.
Additional information about the 2024 International Six Metre European Championships is available at 6meuropeans2024.com. You can follow the regatta action online at:
The third day of the International Six Metre European Championship 2024 Trofeo Xacobeo off Sanxenxo brought more tough conditions for the competitors, who completed race five of the eight race series in heavy mist, tricky seas and a 12-14 knot west-south-westerly breeze.
Overall Standings
A second place in race five helped His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain’s Bribon consolidate her place at the top of the Classic Division leaderboard, which she now heads by five points from Ossi Paija’s Astree III (Nylandska JK) who finished the race in fourth. Classics race five was won by Mauricio Sanchez-Bella Carswell’s Titia (RCN de Sanxenxo), who retains her third place overall. Miguel Lago Cereceda’s Alibaba II (MRCYB) claimed sixth in the race and overtakes Louis Heckly’s Fun (YC de France) who was over the line at the start and failed to return, dropping him down to fifth overall.
On the dock Pepe Lis, tactician aboard Classics race winner Titia, summed up the conditions and looked ahead to the remaining races. “Well, we have been here for three days now. Three days with a lot of humidity and rain, and it’s hard to see the windward marks. The leeward ones too. Well, difficult. The championship has not been easy at all. When we went out, there were very good conditions. It was about 12-14 knots or so and there was visibility. At the start we managed to get off quite well, not too tight on the windward side. The shifts were good left and right, ten to fifteen degrees and we managed to hook the first right, then a little bit of left and then we got in front and from there it was more or less just about controlling the fleet. The hardest part was almost finding the leeward mark, that was really hard. The day after tomorrow we have very light winds, very light, and the direction is not very clear, and on Saturday too. In other words, there are three days left, three days to do three races in really difficult conditions. But we’ll see, that’s where we are. It’s better to be where we are now than further back.”
Going into the day the Open Division had been a three-way tie between Basil Vasiliou’s Jane Ann (New York YC), skippered by Steffan Lindberg, Rainer Muller’s Junior (SN De Geneve), skippered by Loic Forestier, and Henrik Andersin’s Oiva, (Nylandska JK). For Jane Ann the race was something of a disaster and they finished tenth, which drops her down into fourth overall. A sixth place was just sufficient to allow Junior to take the overall lead, but she is now tied on 20 points with Violeta Alvarez’ Stella (RCN Sanxenxo), who won the race in impressive style. Oiva finished seventh in the race to put her a single point behind the leaders in third. Jane Ann drops down to fourth, four points behind the leader and tied on 24 points with Jeremy Thorp’s Battlecry (Royal Yacht Squadron).
Back ashore Open Division race winner Violeta Alvarez was pleased with how their day went. “Well, it was very wet, very foggy, but we enjoyed it. The most difficult thing was to find the marks. It was really difficult; we couldn’t see where we were. But we just kept going a little bit more and did a few extra tacks just because we couldn’t find the windward mark. My crew is very special, the boys are superb, and I love them all. Pablo [Iglesias – tactician] was a little bit stressed because he couldn’t see the marks and it was such shifty conditions, but it was very nice. I have a very good crew, and I’m very lucky. Our mood has always been positive. Yesterday when it was raining, we were singing songs, so we’re always positive. We have fun. We. We call ourselves the Happy Team. So, we shall continue to be happy and enjoy ourselves whatever comes.”
Classic Division Race Roundup
Classic Division race five went to Titia who led the fleet off the line and never really looked back. Behind her Catalin Trandafir’s Essentia from the CYC Constanta led Bribon around the top mark, setting up what was to become a battle royal for the rest of the race. Essentia did everything she could to defend but on the second beat Bribon went further left and snuck into second position on the approach to the second windward mark. Essentia challenged Bribon at every opportunity on the last run, but at the line, it was Bribon that followed Titia home with Essentia third, Astree III fourth and Aida fifth.
Open Division Race Roundup
Stella got a fantastic start in the Open Division and lead the fleet throughout the race. Whilst Stella stretched away for a comfortably victory, behind her the fight was on between Rainer Muller’s Duclop (SN de Geneva), helmed by Frank Narbone, defending Champion Dieter Schoen’s Momo (SC St Moritz), Eugenio Galdon Brugarolas’ May Be XIV (RCR de Cartagena), Jeremy Thorp’s Battlecry (Royal Yacht Squadron), Jan Eckert’s Ginkgotoo (SN de Geneve), and Junior. Finding the marks and at times even locating your fellow competitors in the heavy mist made the race extraordinarily challenging, but on the line Duclop held second with May Be XIV third. Momo took her best result of the regatta at fourth, Battlecry was fifth and Junior sixth.
The warm welcome of the Real Club Nautico de Sanxenxo’s clubhouse and the wonderful apres sailing hospitality provided by the hosts, which includes a range of local beers, wines and produce, was hugely appreciated by the sailors. And once again the drying facility in the club’s boiler room came into its own!
Three races remain to be sailed in the eight-race series which concludes on Saturday 5 October.
Additional information about the 2024 International Six Metre European Championships is available at 6meuropeans2024.com. You can follow the regatta action online at:
The weather gods provided good wind on the second day of the Six Metre European Championships 2024 Trofeo Xacobeo, but it came with lots of rain and poor visibility, making for a tricky day on the water. The Real Club Nautico de Sanxenxo’s Race Committee initially postponed ashore before taking the fleet out to the inshore course in front of the clubhouse. Although the visibility came and went, they were none the less able to run three good races for both fleets in a brisk south-westerly, races two to four of the eight race series.
Once again, the racing was incredibly tight, and while the increased wind strength benefited some, it was less to the liking of others. The fact that of the six individual races run there were six different race winners is undoubtedly a testament to the outstanding quality of the competition.
Overall Standings
In the overall standings there is a three way tie for the lead as Basil Vasiliou’s Jane Ann (1985 Pelle Petterson design) retains her lead on countback alone, and is on equal points with Rainer Muller’s Junior, a 1981 Pelle Petterson design widely regarded as one of the most successful Six Metres ever built, skippered by Loic Forestier, and Henrik Andersin’s Oiva, designed by Allan Savolainen and built by Finland’s Red Sky Yachts in 2022. Four points back and also only separated on countback are Jeremy Thorp’s Battlecry (1988 Ian Howlett) in fourth and Violeta Alvarez’ Stella (2017 Juan Kouyoumdjian) in fifth.
Junior’s Nicolas Berthoud was pleased with their performance. “I would say it went quite well with the first and the second race, and then probably a ninth or something like that, but it was a tricky wet day. It was heavily left favoured, and we managed to take our advantage, even if we had a bad start once, so ultimately it was a great day for us.”
In the Classic Division overall standings, the regatta is currently something of a two-boat race between His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain’s Bribon (1947 Arvind Laurin), helmed today by Ross Macdonald, and Ossi Paija’s Astree III (1959 Bjarne Aas). Bribon added 2, 1, 2 to her scoreline to retain a three-point lead over Astree III who scored 1, 2, 4 in today’s races. Victory in race four saw Mauricio Sanchez-Bella Carswell’s Titia (1953 David Boyd) leapfrog over Louis Heckly’s Fun (1937 Olin Stephens) for third overall, while the Classics top five is now completed by Miguel Lago’s Alibaba II, which was designed by Tore Holm in 1948 and won Olympic Bronze in 1948 and 1952.
After racing Ossi Paija summed up Astree III’s day. “Well, today it was very interesting. The first thing was to figure out was where the top mark was, because you couldn’t see it! The next thing was to see the bottom mark for the same reason. And yeah, it was pretty wet. Pretty wavy. We had some heavy rainfalls and fog. Everything that the sky can throw at you. But we had good races. We had good pace in the first one, we took victory there. The second one was really close again, but we finished second. And, unfortunately in the third one we were fourth, so we were on a little bit of a downward curve. But we had a fantastic sailing day, nevertheless and we are still in the fight. His Majesty’s Bribon is leading, but I think we are in second place, so the Championship is within reach and we’re looking forward to the coming days.”
Open Division Race Roundup
In the Open Division Oiva showed the fleet a clean pair of heels in race two. With only one season of racing under their belts this team have been looking for the boat’s sweet spot, and it certainly looked like they found it today. Second in race two was Stella, with Battlecry third, Nick and Fotis Lykiardopulo’s Aera fourth and Duclop.
In race three Junior got a great start but had a tough fight with Battlecry, which she ultimately won. Following Battlecry home in third was Stella who had outsailed Duclop and Jane Ann on the final leg. Although Duclop finished fourth on the water she was subsequently disqualified in a port starboard protest against Ginkgotoo moving Jane Ann up into fourth.
Race four for the Opens was another great tussle and this time race one winner Jane Ann found her form again to lead the fleet home from Junior with Oiva third, Jan Eckert’s Ginkgotoo fourth and Aera fifth.
Classic Division Race Roundup
Having been narrowly bested by Bribon in yesterday’s opening race, Astree III was out for revenge, and she got it in race two where she successfully held off all advances from Bribon to take her first race win of the regatta. The chasing pack had some close racing of their own with Titia ultimately crossing the line third ahead of Fun and Alibaba II.
With a crew that includes Pedro Campos, Alejandro Abascal and Ross MacDonald, the Bribon crew should never be underestimated, and they came back stronger than ever in race three with another huge battle with Astree III that she won on the line. Third place went to Alibaba II, with Catalin Trandafir’s Essential fourth and Andy Postle’s Nirvana fifth.
Race four broke the Bribon/Astree II stranglehold as Titia found the front of the fleet and managed to fend off repeat advances from Bribon. Fun took third with Astree II fourth and Javier de La Gandara Alonso’s Aida, being skippered by Francisco Botas, fifth.
After sailing the crews returned to the Real Club Nautico de Sanxenxo where the après sailing party had been moved inside to the club’s spectacular third floor main bar overlooking the race area. Equally welcome was the fact that the boiler room had been opened so everyone could dry their kit!
Four races remain to be sailed in the series which continues until Saturday 5 October.
PROVISIONAL RESULTS AFTER FOUR RACES
OPEN DIVISION
USA 105 – Jane Anne – Basil Visilou/Steffan Lindberg – 1, 8, 4, 1 = 14
Additional information about the 2024 International Six Metre European Championships is available at 6meuropeans2024.com. You can follow the regatta action online at:
International 6 Metre Association 