British Six Metre Association Chairman welcomes competitors to Cowes for 6 Metre World Championship
by Fiona Brown 1 Sep 18:14 PDT
31 August - 8 September 2023
British Six Metre Association Chairman Tom Owen welcomed teams from across the globe to Cowes for the International Six Metre World Championship 2023, which is being hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron from Monday 4 to Friday 8 September.
"We're really pleased to be welcoming thirty-four Six Metre teams to the Cowes waters. It's a really historic place to race. We've got two days of practice races and five days of championship racing ahead of us and we're really looking forward to the competition. We've got boats from pretty much all over the World including Canada, America, Finland, Spain, Switzerland, Greece, Sweden France, Germany and of course the UK, and I think the competition is going to be excellent." - Tom Owen.
Since Tuesday 29 August the teams have been arriving in Cowes and undergoing measurement and registration checks at the regatta's marina base at Cowes Yacht Haven. Competing in the regatta are boats built as early as 1930 and as recently as 2022, and this brings its own special challenges for the measurement team, which this week is led by International Six Metre Measurer David Chivers. One of the secrets of the Six Metre's longevity and continuing popularity has been the careful management of the rules by the International Class and the firm enforcement of those rules to ensure all the boats can compete on a level playing field.
Each of the teams must ensure their boat has been fully measured and has a current measurement certificate prior to the event, and then those measurements and the individual sails and equipment to be used in the competition are rechecked at registration. Championship racing does not commence until Monday, so some crews are still making their way to Cowes, but already most boats have successfully completed the measurement process.
In charge of the Royal Yacht Squadron's highly efficient race management team for the regatta is Race Officer Peter Saxton, one of the UK's most experienced race officers. That experience was put to the test today as the race committee had to deal with initially very light winds as they prepared to run the first of the warm-up races. Wisely they elected to make a prompt announcement of a two-hour postponement to allow the conditions to improve, giving the teams extra time to work on their boats and sample the delights of Cowes' many lovely cafes. The wait was worth it though, and as the sun broke through the grey clouds, the competitors enjoyed one excellent full length windward/leeward race in a decent 12 to 16 knot westerly breeze.
Whilst not all the boats participated, the race was none the less a good indicator of things to come. In the Open Division Jeremy Thorp's GBR89 Battlecry drew first blood, leading home the defending World Champion Dieter Schoen's SUI142 Momo, with Jamie Hilton at the helm of USA126 Scoundrel third and Jan Eckerts SUI140 Ginkgotoo fourth. In the Classic Division the victor was Mauricio Sanchez-Bella's ESP72 Titia, who was followed home by the 2022 European Champion ESP16 Bribon, skippered by His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain, and GBR33 Nirvana owned by Andy & Lisa Postle. Click here for full results.
Further warm up racing will take place on Saturday 2 September, whilst on Sunday the International Six Metre Class AGM will take place, followed later in the day by the Race Officer's Briefing and then the Regatta Opening Reception at the Royal Yacht Squadron. Championship racing will get under way on Monday 4 September with up to eight races scheduled between then and Friday 8 September.
Additional information about the 2023 International Six Metre World Championship, including a list of entries with details of each boat is available at www.6metreworlds.com.
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