Please select your home edition
Edition
RS Sailing 2021 - LEADERBOARD

Oldest videos of 12 Metre class yachts sailing

by Magnus Smith 24 Dec 2023 04:00 PST
Dame Pattie (KA-2) © Southern Woodenboat Sailing

Our video archive is fully searchable, and linked to all the clubs and classes in our database. It is updated weekly with the latest videos of sailing, but here we delve into the past, and round-up everything that shows sailing in the 12 Metre class, since we have so many to choose from.

1930s

Our oldest videos are from the 1930s, and perhaps show a time when the 12 Metres attracted less publicity than the J Class, hence the majority of screen time is devoted to the latter. If you want to catch a quick glimpse of early 12 Metres in the UK, see Royal Harwich YC season opens in 1933 or Harwich Regatta 1934 but there is sadly not much detail to observe.

Better footage of the 12s is available in the video of Cowes Week 1937 below, which includes a quick glimpse at what well-dressed ladies of the time were wearing!

Heading back to the east coast of the UK, a newsreel about the 1939 Royal Harwich YC Regatta includes the US-flagged 12 Metre 'Vim'. But was her mast really made from stainless steel or has the announcer got it wrong?!

There's a good chance to observe the lines of 'Vim' as she is loaded onto a ship in Southampton, UK for transportation back to the USA. This is 1939. 25926

Finally from this decade there is a little look at 12 Metres during Cowes Regatta 1939, which is short, but does show spinnakers (which we haven't seen in the above videos).

1950s

We have only one video from the 1950s 'Sceptre' sailing at Poole in 1958 which shows the deck layout and sailors more clearly that other videos.

1960s

The decade starts in colour! 12m class racing (1960) with 'Sceptre', 'Flica' and 'Miquette' has some great close-ups.

Cowes Week 1961 includes footage on board 'Sceptre' at 1m50s (you may want to skip straight to this point, unless watching royalty disembark fascinates you).

Taken at the same time, unused footage (totally silent) also shows great close-ups of 'Sceptre' (Cowes Regatta 1961).

At last we have a video from outside the UK! Australia saw the Launch of 12 Metre 'Gretel' in Sydney in 1962. What high hopes they must have had on that day, but it was a long wait for their nation to break the American hold on the Auld Mug.

From 1963 we have footage of Sailmaking at Bruce Banks loft which includes time on board 'Sovereign' in training afterwards.

The same yacht appears with 'Constellation' during 12 Metre training in Marseille from 1964.

Last of all, there is America's Cup racing at Rhode Island with 'Constellation' and 'Sovereign', also from 1964.

What of the other decades?

Do you know the location of any 12 metre videos from the 1940s, 70s or 90s? We would love to share these with other sailors. You can submit video links to us for immediate review.

Keep watching with:

We must end with this fantastic photo of 'Constellation'. What a beautiful class the 12s are...

Related Articles

Donna Mohr and Jon Hamilton on the 70th annual Mug
A Q&A with Donna Mohr and Jon Hamilton on the 70th annual Mug Race Sail-World checked in with Donna Mohr and Jon Hamilton, who serve as race organizers, via email, to learn more about this 38-nautical-mile river race. Posted today at 3:00 pm
Grabbing chances with both hands
Can bad weather actually lead to more sailing? There's been no getting away from the fact that it's been a pretty miserable start to 2024 weather-wise in the UK. February saw record rainfall (yes, I know we're famed for our rain over here), it's been seriously windy and generally chilly. Posted on 30 Apr
worldmarine.media news update
Transat CIC, Congressional Cup, Last Chance Regatta News from The Transat CIC from Lorient to New York, the 59th Congressional Cup where Chris Poole and Ian Williams contested the final and the Last Chance Regatta, where the final qualifiers for Paris 2024 were decided. Posted on 30 Apr
worldmarine.media news PILOT SHOW
Featuring Mozzy Sails, Weir Wood Sailing Club, Crewsaver and UpWind by MerConcept Happy to launch the worldmarine.media news pilot show! Many thanks to contributors MozzySails, Weir Wood Sailing Club, Crewsaver and UpWind by MerConcept, sponsored by 11th Hour Racing. Posted on 28 Apr
An interview with Colligo Marine's John Franta
A Q&A on their involvement with the Tally Ho Sail-World checked in with John Franta, founder, co-owner, and lead engineer at Colligo Marine, to learn more about the company's latest happenings, and to find out more about their involvement with the Tally Ho project. Posted on 23 Apr
A lesson in staying cool, calm, and collected
Staying cool, calm, and collected on the 2024 Blakely Rock Benefit Race The table was set for a feast: a 12-14 knot northerly combed Puget Sound, accompanied by blue skies and sunshine. But an hour before of our start for the Blakely Rock Benefit Race, DC power stopped flowing from the boat's lithium-ion batteries. Posted on 23 Apr
No result without resolve
Normally, when you think of the triple it might be Line Honours, Corrected Time, and Race Record Normally, when you think of the triple it might be Line Honours, Corrected Time, and Race Record. So then, how about sail it, sponsor it, and truly support it? his was the notion that arrived as I pondered the recently completed Sail Port Stephens. Posted on 21 Apr
The oldest video footage of Fireball dinghies
A look back into our video archive We delve into the past, and round-up all videos which show sailing at in the Fireball class of dinghy. Posted on 21 Apr
Mike McCarty and Julie San Martin on the SCIR
A Q&A with Mike McCarty and Julie San Martin on the 2024 St Croix International Regatta Sail-World checked in with Mike McCarty and Julie San Martin, who serve as the regatta's sailing chair and continuity coordinator (respectively), via email, to learn more. Posted on 16 Apr
AC75 launching season
Love 'em or hate 'em, the current America's Cup yachts represent the cutting-edge of foiling Love 'em or hate 'em, the current America's Cup yachts certainly represent the cutting-edge of foiling and are the fastest windward-leeward sailing machines on water. Posted on 15 Apr
Cyclops Marine 2023 November - FOOTERC-Tech 2021 (Spars-QFX Racer) 728x90 BOTTOMRS Sailing 2021 - FOOTER