The International Six Metre fleet has gathered in Sanxenxo on Spain’s stunning Galician coast in preparation for the 2024 Six Metre European Championship. The current reigning champions, Dieter Schoen’s Momo of Switzerland in the Open Division and His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain’s Bribon in the Classic Division, will both defend their titles against teams from France, Finland, Great Britain, Greece, Romania, Switzerland, Spain and the USA.
Sanxenxo is familiar territory for the Sixes as the Real Club Nautico de Sanxenxo (RCNS) is home to a significant part of the Spanish fleet, and the club also hosted the 2021 European and 2022 World Championships.
International Six Metre Association President Louis Heckly reflected the feelings of the sailors saying, “We are delighted to be back in Sanxenxo again for this year’s European Championship. The RCNS is a superb host club, and we can look forward to a first-class regatta. I’m delighted to see so many nations represented on the entry list and to welcome Basil Vasiliou and the Jane Ann team all the way from the New York Yacht Club. I was lucky enough to win the Classic World Championship last time we were here, so I just hope my luck holds again this year!”.
Alongside great racing, the sailors will enjoy a warm social welcome from the RCNS. The regatta opened with a delightful Welcome Ceremony, where competitors enjoyed delicious local wines and foods in the RCNS race village as the sunset. There will also be daily après sailing gatherings and a spectacular Gala Prize Giving Dinner on Saturday evening.
In preparation for the Europeans many of the teams participated in the RCNS Regata Rey Juan Carlos I, Galicia’s biggest annual sailing regatta featuring some 160 boats, which took place from 27 to 29 September. In the Classic Division His Majesty King Juan Carlos gave notice that Bribon is on excellent form for her defence of the Classic European Championship, winning by six points from Finland’s Ossi Paija and his team aboard Astree III, with Spain’s Javier de La Gandara Alonso’s Aida third.
In the Open Division Momo put in a strong performance at the Regata Rey Juan Carlos I, but it was Sanxenxo’s own Violeta Alvarez and her crew in Stella that took the victor’s laurels by five points from Nick and Fotis Lykiardopulo’s Aera. Third place was tied on points with Jan Eckert’s Ginkgotoo just beating Momo to the final step on the podium on countback.
Racing for the Six Metre European Championship will get underway on Monday 30 September and runs until Saturday 5 October with a total of eight races scheduled over six days. You will be able to follow the racing on Facebook and Instagram and via the live tracking, which will go live shortly before the start of each race. Results will be posted at the event website.
Additional information about the 2024 International Six Metre European Championship, including a list of entries is available at 6meuropeans2024.com. You can follow the regatta action online at:
27/9/24 – 9ª Regata Rey Juan Carlos – El Corte Inglés Máster, 202429/9/24 – 9ª Regata Rey Juan Carlos – El Corte Inglés Máster, 202429/9/24 – 9ª Regata Rey Juan Carlos – El Corte Inglés Máster, 202427/9/24 – 9ª Regata Rey Juan Carlos – El Corte Inglés Máster, 202427/9/24 – 9ª Regata Rey Juan Carlos – El Corte Inglés Máster, 202427/9/24 – 9ª Regata Rey Juan Carlos – El Corte Inglés Máster, 202428/9/24 – 9ª Regata Rey Juan Carlos – El Corte Inglés Máster, 202428/9/24 – 9ª Regata Rey Juan Carlos – El Corte Inglés Máster, 2024
Members of the International Six Metre Association are advised that our 51st Annual General Meeting (2024 AGM) will be held on the 28th of September 2024 at 9:00 CEST in the Real Club Náutico de Sanxenxo (Spain).
The Agenda for the AGM will be circulated to the members by email by ISMA Executive Secretary Helena Paz.
In addition a new ISMA WhatsApp Chat has been created to circulate useful information related to ISMA and its events. To receive an invitation to join please email Helena on IsmaSecretary@6metre.com who will also be able to assist with any questions regarding the AGM.
You are invited to participate in the 2024 Mallorca Six Metre Series, which will feature five regattas from March to July 2024 including the Trofeo Princesa Sofia and the Palmavela Regatta. To find out more about the series please contact Helena Paz on hpcornes@gmail.com for further information.
This message is to advise members about a change of location for the 2024 European Championship.
This year’s European championship, which was originally planned to take place on the Ile de Porquerolles in late September and early October 2024, will now take place in Sanxenxo on dates as close as possible to the original dates planned for Porquerolles. A copy of the offer from the Asociacion Española Seis Metros to host the event, in conjunction with the Real Club Náutico de Sanxenxo, is attached below. A Notice of Race (NoR) will be issued as soon as possible.
In planning for an event at Porquerolles, ISMA has been well aware of the need to publish a Notice of Race and started discussions last year with members of UF6mJI (the French Fleet) to agree suitable wording. UF6mJI were liaising with the Yacht Club de Porquerolles (YCP), and we agreed we had enough detail to pass the text to the YCP by the middle of December. YCP responded with a proposed NoR on 8 January, at which point UF6mJI commented: “this document only partially reflects the work that we have carried out together and for which YCP has always been informed”. ISMA identified a number of issues to be resolved which were passed to YCP on 12 January.
In subsequent exchanges, it became clear that YCP were unable or unwilling to make the changes requested or to discuss the matter further. In an e-mail sent at 1451 on Tuesday, 16 January, the President of YCP said: “We regret to inform you that we will not be organizing the 6 mJI European Championship scheduled to take place in Porquerolles from September 27 to October 2, 2024. Following all our exchanges, and unable to respond favourably to all the technical requests made to ensure the quality of welcome required for this event, we will not be able to ensure the organization of this event.”
The ISMA President was unable to contact the President of YCP until a telephone call on the afternoon of Wednesday, 17 January. In that call, it became clear that YCP’s decision was final and there was no room for further discussion.
Since YCP’s position became clear, ISMA officers have worked to identify urgently the safest alternative option, matching as far as possible the dates planned for Porquerolles to avoid further programme disruption. They have concluded that the most practical and certain alternative is to accept the offer from the Spanish Fleet.
Best wishes
Tim Tim Russell Louis Heckly Executive Secretary ISMA President ISMA
His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain and the Bribon crew with the Djinn Trophy for the Classic World Championship International Six Metre World Championship 2023 – All images (c) SailingShots by Maria Muiña
8 September 2023 – Cowes, UK – The Royal Yacht Squadron’s famous lawn overlooking the Solent was the setting for an elegant sunset Prize Giving Reception that brought the International Six Metre World Championship 2023 to a close. The sailors gathered in the presence of His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain to celebrate their champions and enjoy one final evening together.
This has been the 50-year anniversary of the ISMA World Championship. The first regatta was held in Seattle in 1973, and the trophy presented then by the Port of Seattle and the Puget Sound 6 Metre Association, The Six Metre World Cup, is still awarded today. Of the competitors participating in Cowes, GER96 Hanko III is the only boat that was also at that first event. At that time, she was known as US96 Eclipse. She was sailed by C. William “Bill” Brasier of Tacoma, Washington and placed twelfth of the twenty entries. The event was won by Tom Blackaller of the St Francis Yacht Club sailing US100 St Francis V in a duel with Australia’s Olympic Gold Medal Star sailor David Forbes sailing KA6 Pacemaker that went down to the last race.
International Six Metre President Louis Heckly was full of praise for all who had made the regatta possible, saying, “Firstly, to my fellow competitors, without whom we would have no regatta, I say thank you for your continuing commitment to the Six Metre Class and for travelling from across the Globe to Cowes to be part of this 50th Anniversary World Championship. Thank you too to the British Six Metre Association, and to the Royal Yacht Squadron team who have made this such a special celebration for us. So many people have given so much time to make the event a resounding success, but on behalf of the Class and the competitors I would particularly like to thank Race Officer Peter Saxton and his wonderful team who have been exemplary. They really did a fantastic job of getting us one race on Wednesday and they missed no opportunity to make the game fair and keep the competition wide open to the very last race.”.
Royal Yacht Squadron Commodore, The Hon Sir James Holman, praised the sailors on the quality and fairness of the competition and issued a standing invitation to the class for future championship events, before handing over to Louis Heckly and British Six Metre Chairman Tom Owen for the presentations. Among the presentations were:
The Jean-Pierre Odero Trophy, for an individual who makes an exceptional contribution to the Six Metre Class, to Mauricio Sanchez-Bella for his outstanding work in revitalising and supporting the Spanish Six Metre Fleet.
The Trophy Pierre-Paul Heckly, for the winner of the Corinthian Open Division, to Philippe Durr and Reiner Muller’s Junior
The Corinthian Classic Division Trophy to Patrick Sandman’s May Be VI
The KSSS Cup for the highest placed yacht built to the First or Second International Rule which retains its original underwater configuration, and The Tim Street Perpetual Trophy, presented to the top performing yacht certified before December 1965, competing under the exception defined in Appendix A of the International Six Metre Rule, to Fenton Burgin’s Sioma
8/9/23 – International Six Metre World Championship 2023 hosted by The Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) based in Cowes on the Isle of Wight (UK).
The IYRS Astor Cup, for the highest placed yacht whose crew includes a person under 25 years of age, to Simon Williams’ Silvervingen
The Lucie Trophy, for the highest placed yacht whose crew includes a woman as helmsperson or crew, to Violeta Alvarez’ Stella
The Djinn Trophy, for the Classic Division, to His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain’s Bribon
8/9/23 – International Six Metre World Championship 2023 hosted by The Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) based in Cowes on the Isle of Wight (UK).
And finally The Six Metre World Cup to Jamie Hilton’s Scoundrel.
Speaking about the appeal of the Six Metres, 2023 Six Metre Open World Champion Jamie Hilton said, “We could go on for hours about that. It was interesting, during Covid you couldn’t come to regattas like this and in Sanxenxo last year [at the 2022 Worlds] it was the first time I’d seen some friends in three years, and if felt so good because there are so many really great people sailing these boats. So first and foremost, for me it’s the people, but the boats are just fantastic. I sailed a Vintage boat for a long time, Lucy, which was really a truly special boat. And I’ve got to thank Matt Brooks [owner of Lucy] because without him I wouldn’t be here sailing Six Metres. They’re fantastic boats to sail, but none of my guys, aside from Mike Marshall who sailed a Six last year, have sailed Six Metres before, but what they love about them is that they’re really technical, there’s so many things you can do to make the boat go a little bit faster, so it’s a real challenge to get the boats to perform at their optimal levels.”
The Six Metre Class has seen a considerable resurgence of interest in recent years, attracting new owners, new designers, new builders and new sailors. It is exciting to see new teams and new boats join the fleet, and it is a testament to the careful management and control of the Class by the International Six Metre Association, that yachts separated in age by a century continue to race together, and that a thirty year old wooden boat can still win the World Championship against her most modern composite sisters. A quick glance down the top five in the Open Division confirms that they were built in 1989, 2017, 2021, 1981 and 2020 respectively. The oldest boat in the competition, the 97-year young Sioma, finished in a very creditable ninth place in the Classic division.
The next International Championship for the Six Metres will be the 2024 European Championship which is expected to be held on the French Mediterranean coast next summer. Further details of this event will be available from www.6metre.com later in the year.
Our thanks to Six Metre sailor Matt Cockburn for the background information about the history of the first Six Metre World Championship in Seattle.
Additional information about the 2023 International Six Metre World Championship, including a list of entries with details of each boat is available at 6metreworlds.com.
International 6 Metre Association 