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Three challenging races on day four of the 2025 Six Metre World Championships

September 26, 2025 fionabrown Leave a comment

Super challenging conditions but three great races on day four of the 2025 Six Metre World Championship at Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club

A race six win helps Momo II establish a five-point lead over her nearest Open Championship rivals, whilst overall second to fourth placed Duclop, Eau Vive and Aera are separated by just three points going into the final day.

Bribon takes two race wins to lead the Classic Championship by four points from Titia in second, with only three points separate Sprig, Flapper and Jill for third to fifth places.

95 years young Sprig wins her first ever World Championship race.

All images ©SailingShots by Maria Muiña

25 September 2025 – Oyster Bay, NY, USA – Three races for both divisions on the penultimate day of the 2025 Six Metre World Championships at the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, produced some great competition and a new race winner. With six of eight possible races completed the single discard comes into play, and the leading packs are now becoming established.

Racing was initially delayed for two hours to allow some squally rainstorms to go through, but threatened lightning failed to materialise. At 12.30 Race Officer Shannon Bush and the SCYC Race Committee got proceedings underway in the last of the rain and a broadly southerly breeze, which varied from around 6 to 20 knots and shifted constantly as the various fronts rolled through.

In the Open Championship Dieter Schoen’s new Judel/Vrolijk designed Momo II took two race wins and a third place, which she now discards, to consolidate her overall lead, an impressive performance for a team that only took delivery of their new boat just in time for this regatta. The other Open Division race winner was Laurence Clerc’s Duclop, skippered by Eric Monnin, a 1981 Pelle Peterson design, which led race four from the off and defended her position fiercely all the way to the line. With a second and third in the following races, Duclop moves up from fourth into second overall, five points behind Momo II. Just one point behind her though is Rainer Müller’s elegant new Ian Howlett designed Eau Vive, being sailed this week by Jamie Hilton and his reigning World Championship team, who have dropped from second to third thanks to a 5, 3, 2 score today. Still very firmly in contention for a podium finish is Foti Lykiardopulo’s 1989 Pelle Peterson designed Aera, who’s 2, 5, 4 score today leaves them in fourth, only two points adrift of Eau Vive.

Momo II’s Alvaro Marinho was happy with, but by no means complacent about, their day’s racing saying, “It was a long, shifty, patchy, very difficult day and the weather here you never know what’s happening, so we take it race by race. Obviously, it was a super day of sailing and in the end we are happy with our performance. It feels good but we know that we need to keep working, not just to do a good day tomorrow, but also to learn more from the boat. The boat is brand new so we’re learning a lot each day. We keep on that mode, the team mood is good, so we take it day by day, tomorrow is another race.”

His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain’s 78-year-old Arvid Laurin designed Bribon had another great day winning races five and six and placing third in race four in the Classic Championship. This puts her into a four-point lead over fellow Spaniard Mauricio Sanchez-Bella’s Titia, which came away from the day with a straight set of second places, enabling her to move up from fourth to second overall. Today’s other Classics race winner was 95-year-old Sprig, a Clinton H Crane design sailed by Greg Stewart. This is Greg’s third World Championship with Sprig, but it is the first time they have ever won a race. They followed up with a third and fifth and now lie in third place overall, eight points behind Titia, but only one point ahead of Thomas Kuhmann’s 1939 Christian Jensen designed Flapper, who has dropped from third to fifth.

Greg Stewart broke off from his team’s celebrations at the bar to tell us, “Today went very well. This morning, we said we were going to go out and really work on getting some better starts. And in the first race we had a good start, and we were up in the front of the group with the King and the other top boats, and we ended up winning the first race which is the first ever worlds race that I’ve won. I’ve done the worlds in 2009 in Newport when out top score was a seventh, our top score in Vancouver in 2017 was a second. I didn’t want to jinx it so I didn’t say anything until we crossed the line, but as soon as we realised the whole team was ecstatic. In the next race we got a third so that was our third-best result ever. So a great day for us.”

It was a very long day, with the boats not making it back into the harbour until dusk. But everyone was relieved to now have sufficient races completed to validate the championship and allow a discard. And they were also delighted to have enjoyed three really good, challenging races in a variety of conditions.

Back ashore Ute Monnin-Wagner was particularly pleased with how Duclop’s championship is going, saying, “We’ve now won two races, so we are quite happy. It was fun sailing today with three races so that was good. Every time you go out sailing there is something you can tune or do better so it’s all about learning I would say. Racing in this class is quite tough, but it’s a world championship so everybody wants to be in front, everybody wants to win, everybody wants to be as good as possible or even better. Performance is everything.”

Flapper’s Thomas Kuhmann concurred saying, “Today was great. Three races was tough though and we had very changeable conditions, very shifty winds. And then towards the late afternoon it got stronger and there was some rough sea, so we had all sorts of wind and sea today. The racing is very tough. There is a top group that is the usual suspects that probably will win the championship and go on the podium. There is a tough call between them all the time, and we happen to be part of them but not quite at the top. So, we have a goal to improve!”

The championship concludes tomorrow with two final races remaining to be sailed, so there’s still plenty of room for manoeuvre on the scoreboards. The first start is scheduled for 10.30 and the forecast indicates the sun will make a welcome return, and the breeze will be light to moderate from the west-northwest, so hopefully a final day rather more typical of the lovely late summer conditions for which this area is renowned.

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

Provisional top five after six races

Open Championship
1 – IBV145 – Momo II – Dieter Schoen – 2, 2, 1, (3), 1, 1 = 7
2 – SUI100 – Duclop – Laurence Clerc/Eric Monnin – (8), 1, 5, 1, 2, 3 = 12
3 – SUI144 – Eau Vive – Rainer Müller/Jamie Hilton – 1, 4, 3, (5), 3, 2 = 13
4 – GRE1 – Aera – Foti Lykiardopulo – 4, 3, 2, 2, (5), 4 = 15
5 – USA105 – Jane Ann – Basil Vasiliou – 6, 5, 4, 4, 7, (8) = 26

Classic Championship
1 – ESP16 – Bribon – Real Club Nautico Sanxenxo – (3), 1, 1, 3, 1, 1 = 7
2 – ESP72 – Titia – Mauricio Sanchez-Bella – (11), 3, 2, 2, 2, 2 = 11
3 – US43 – Sprig – Greg Stewart – 5, 5, (6), 1, 3, 5 = 19
4 – USA171 – Flapper – Thomas Kuhmann – (6), 4, 3, 6, 4, 4 = 20
5 – US56 – Jill – Alessandro Maria Rinaldi – 1, 6, 4, 6, 5, (7) = 22

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Bribon and Momo II rise to the top on day three of the 2025 Six Metre World Championships

September 25, 2025 fionabrown Leave a comment

Wins for Duclop and Momo II in the Open Division, gave Momo II a three-point lead over Eau Vive with Aera just one point adrift in third and Duclop fourth.

Classics Fun and Jill both experience significant gear failures forcing Fun to retire from race three, but Jill went on to finish in fourth regardless.

24 September 2025 – Oyster Bay, NY, USA – A lack of sunshine didn’t detract from the sparkle of the International Six Metre fleet on day three of their 2025 World Championships at the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club on Long Island. Races two and three of the series were completed in a steady breeze from 080 degrees, which built from around 6 knots at the start of race two, to circa 12 knots by the end of race three.

In the Classic Championship overall standings His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain’s Bribon scored two impressive race wins and now leads the regatta on five points. She has a six-point delta over Alessandro Maria Rinaldi’s Jill, who hangs onto second despite a near dismasting during race two. Two further points behind lies Thomas Kuhmann’s Flapper, in third, while Mauricio Sanchez-Bella’s Titia and Greg Stuart’s Sprig are both on 16 points, with Titia taking fourth place on countback.

After racing His Majesty was very happy with their results. “It was a hard fight but thanks to God we won. We are very happy, but we still have a lot of work to do. I am very sad that the French team, who are good friends of mine, had to pull out today. We missed our fight with them!”

Open Division race one went to Laurence Clerc’s Duclop skippered by Eric Monnin, while race two was won by Dieter Schoen’s Momo II, which had finished second in the morning race. In the overall standings Momo II now leads the regatta by three points from Rainer Müller’s Eau Vive skippered by Jamie Hilton which had a solid day with a fourth and a third. Just one point behind is Foti Lykiardopulo’s Aera, thanks to the third and second they added to their score card. Duclop’s race two win was followed by a fifth, putting Duclop into fourth overall, five points behind Aera and just one point ahead of Basil Vasiliou’s Jane Anne.

Speaking after racing Eric Monnin of Duclop said. “It was great to win a race at the World Championship after a difficult day yesterday, so it feels good. I think we’ve got momentum and hope to continue tomorrow. We also had a little more difficult race in the last race, but I think compared to yesterday we improved a lot so we’re ready to go for tomorrow. I think the wind was a bit more stable and steady. We had classical tactics, we wanted to go right, and we were able to do that. We could do what we wanted to do and that helped a lot. Yesterday we were struggling a lot more in the middle of the fleet. We feel good, but we need to improve every day and hopefully grab one or two places here and there.”

Classic Division Race by Race

Classic Division day three was dominated by Bribon, who won both races. In race two she was challenged hard by Louis Heckly’s Fun, but she kept the upper hand and led the fleet home, with Fun second, Maruicio Sanchez-Bella’s Titia third, and race one winner Alessandro Maria Rinaldi’s Jill fourth.

Off the line in race three Bribon got another good start near the committee boat, while Fun looked good in the middle of the line. But only a few minutes into the race Fun was forced to pull up and drop her sails. Back ashore owner Louis Heckly explained that the boat has suffered a serious structural issue that prevented them from continuing. They are currently working on the boat in the hope of being able to continue the regatta tomorrow.

Meanwhile back on the Classics racecourse Bribon’s choice to stay right was a canny one and by the top mark she had already established her lead with Titia, Flapper and Jill trailing in her wake. Titia and Flapper enjoyed a close tousle around the course to come second and third respectively, but on each leg Jill seemed to drop back slightly, although she just managed to fend off Totem and Spring, with the three-boats crossing the line in that order.

After sailing Jill’s owner explained that on the first beat, they suffered an almost catastrophic failure of one of the bronze bolts that holds the wooden spreaders to their wooden mast. The super quick thinking of the crew saved the mast, but they could only sail under jib alone for the rest of the upwind legs, making their fourth place all the more impressive. Fortunately, the bolt was quickly replaced once back on the mooring, so they will sail again tomorrow.

For Mauricio Sanchez-Bella the improved conditions were most welcome, “First of all it was the first day with a nice wind and perfect conditions, so we’re very happy to race in these conditions. Particularly for us, we came from second to last, to having a third place and a second place. I am very happy to have the two Spanish boats ahead in the last race, so a perfect day, I’m very happy. “

Open Division Race by Race

Race two for the Opens was to be Duclop’s from the off, but behind her there were plenty of place changes. At the end of the first run Aera was in second with Momo II third, Jane Ann fourth, Rainer Müller’s Sting skippered by Reigh North fifth and Eau Vive sixth. By the second weather mark Aera was still just holding off Momo II, with Eau Vive now up into fourth and Jane Ann fifth. But on the final run, despite their best efforts, Aera could not hold off Momo II who slid past them to take second with Aera third, Eau Vive fourth and Jane Ann fifth.

In race three both Sting and Henrick Andersin’s Oiva were called over the line and had to restart. Momo II made a lovely start towards the pin end of the line and led Aera around the first lap with Duclop third, Eau Vive fourth and Jane Ann fifth as they rounded the leeward gate. On the second lap Momo II began to pull out her lead, winning the race from Aera by some 25 seconds. Behind them Eau Vive took third with Jane Ann fourth. The battle for fifth place went right down to the line with Duclop just surging forward to take fifth from Junior with Eugenio Galdon Brugarolas’s Maybe XIV a very close seventh.

Jamie Hilton of Eau Vive summed up his feelings saying, “It was a great day of racing. The breeze was a little bit more than we expected. We’re still figuring out the boat, but the guys on Momo, Aera and Duclop just don’t leave a lot of room for many mistakes. I don’t think we made any big mistakes, they were just a bit better than us today. Especially Momo who are going really well.”

Two days of racing remain, with five races being required to validate the championships. Once six races have been sailed the single discard will come into play, with a maximum of eight races being scheduled. The forecast for the penultimate day promises a southerly breeze but with potential for rain and thunder at times, so another tricky day for competitors and Race Committee alike. A change to the schedule has been published to bring the start of racing on Thursday and Friday forward to 10.30 and to allow up to three races to be sailed on Thursday.

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

Provisional Results after three races

Classic Championship
1. ESP16 – Bribon – Real Club Nautico Sanxenxo – 3, 1, 1 = 5
2. USA56 – Jill – Alessandro Maria Rinaldi – 1, 4, 6 = 11
3. USA171 – Flapper – Thomas Kuhmann – 6, 4, 3 = 13
4. ESP72 – Titia – Mauricio Sanchez-Bella – 11, 3, 2 = 16
5. USA43 – Sprig – Greg Stewart – 5, 5, 6 = 16

Open Championship
1. SUI144 – Momo II – Deiter Schoen – 2, 2, 1 = 5
2. IVB145 – Eau Vive – Rainer Müller/Jamie Hilton – 1, 4, 3 = 8
3. GRE1 – Aera – Foti Lykiardopulo – 4, 3, 2 = 9
4. SUI100 – Duclop – Laurence Clerc/Eric Monnin – 8, 1, 5 = 14
5. USA105 – Jane Ann – Basil Vasiliou – 6, 5,4 = 15

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.

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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

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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