A summer of Solent sailing for the International Six Metres
by Fiona Brown 11 May 2023 15:52 BST
31 August - 8 September 2023
International Six Metres fleet © Fiona Brown
The Solent is the place to be for International Six Metre sailing this summer with a full season of topflight regattas on offer, culminating in the Six Metre World Championships, hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron from Thursday 31 August to Friday 8 September.
Teams from across Europe and North America will be joining a strong British contingent taking part in a series of regattas in the central Solent as they prepare for what promises to be a thrilling Worlds.
Over the Whitsun weekend the fleet will participate in the Royal Thames Yacht Club (RTYC) Bank Holiday Regatta from Saturday 27 to Monday 29 May. This event will be a special Six Metre Training Regatta with racing on the World Championship course area.
From Thursday 22 to Sunday 25 June there's the RTYC Regatta incorporating the Six Metre British Open Championship, with two trophies available to the winners - The Lion Bowl (Open division) and The Dudley Head Salver (Classic division). Again racing will be on the World Championship course area with post sailing gatherings in Cowes.
From Monday 17 to Friday 21 July there will be special windward leeward racing for the Sixes as part of the renowned British Classic Yacht Club Regatta. The fleet will be based at the event's Cowes Yacht Haven race village, where there will be daily après sailing fun and a gala prize-giving dinner. The race officer and his team for this event will the same team running the Worlds event at RYS in September, so a good dry-run for both them and the 6mRs.
Immediately following the BCYC Regatta is the Household Division Yacht Club Regatta on Saturday 22 July, which will be followed by prize-giving reception at the Squadron.
Traditionally the Hamble Classics Regatta has been held in September, but this year the date has been brought forward to the weekend of 26 and 27 August, making it the perfect final warm up event before the Worlds. Hosted jointly by the Hamble River Sailing Club and the Royal Airforce Yacht Club in Hamble, racing will be in the central Solent, while the RAFYC will host the daily social events.
Already thirty-five teams have confirmed their intention to participate in the Worlds including the reigning Open Champion Momo and the reigning Classic Champion Dix Aout. Racing against the home British boats will be crews from Sweden, the USA, Switzerland, Spain, Finland, Canada, Greece, Germany, France and the Netherlands.
Online entry for the event is now open and further information about the 2023 Six Metre Worlds is available at 6metreworlds.com. Further information about all the warmup events can be found on the British Six Metre Association website.