The oldest video footage of 6 Metre sailing yachts
by Magnus Smith 14 Jul 2024 21:00 AEST
2023 Hamble Classics Regatta © Rick Tomlinson / Hamble Classics Regatta
As we approach the start of the 2024 Olympic Games (the first races are on Sunday 28th July) it is a good moment to dig through our huge video archive to see the oldest footage from the classes that used to contest medals. No 470s or Nacra 17s back then; instead we start with the 6 Metre, an Olympic class from 1908 to 1952.
Whilst there is video from the Athens Games in 1896, and London 1908, none covers the sailing; only the track/field events. Casting our search parameters wide, to capture not just Olympic sailing, but any Six Metre races, the best we can do is Cowes Week 1921. This features the J class alongside a 6m fleet, and even a few glimpses of dinghies. Sadly there was not much wind.
Still in the same location, two years later, the 6m class is visible in the video of Cowes Week 1923. British Pathé insist we concentrate on watching royalty attending the event, far more than the yachts actually racing, so feel free to skip to 3m42s.
Moving on one year we have some Olympic footage at last: 6 Metres at Paris 1924 - exactly 100 years ago, as we look to Paris hosting again, this month! This video is interesting because it shows gaff-rigged boats competing against Bermuda rigs.
Update: we later found Paris 1924 Olympics with more 6m footage
Now in the Thirties, we have Sailing on the Clyde, 1930. Skip the long-winded intro by going straight to 2m12s (or to 3m14s to get straight to the Six Metre action).
Update: we later found 6m class in Hamilton, Bermuda, 1932
Next, a cine film by the late Chris Boardman, helmsman of Lalage, a yacht which won a gold medal at the 1936 Games. The video shows Lalage being launched, at Burnham on Crouch, on the Clyde, and competing in the Olympics.
At last we move to the other side of the Atlantic, with video of International Small Class Cup, Long Island, 1938. The cameraman is doing a really good job of stabilising the camera, when you think of what equipment he was forced to work with at the time, in those waves!
Now in the Med, alongside Star and 8m classes, watch Racing in Genoa, Italy, 1939. Unfortunately the 6 Metres do not get much screen time, but do watch the footage anyway, to see if you can keep your eyebrows from jumping...
Update: we later found 6m racing in San Francisco 1939
Last of all we have an offering from the 40s, and are able to celebrate the Olympics again, with footage from London 1948. The narrator is suitably posh, and the backing music positively antique. Watch in awe at the speed of the spinnaker hoist and set.
What of the rest?
Do you know the location of any 6m videos that show racing fleets from the 1930s to the 80s which we have missed? We would love to share these with other sailors. You can submit video links to us for immediate review.
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