Author: fionabrown

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6s Well Represented At Panerai British Classic Week

New-Regatta-Logo-Web-ResThis weekend sees the start of the annual Panerai British Classic Week which gets underway on 14th July and runs until 21st July.  Based at Cowes Yacht Haven this annual event is organised by the British Classic Yacht Club and attracts competitors from across the country as well as overseas.
Panerai’s hospitality is legendary so as well as great sailing competitors can be sure of a fantastic social scene too.
Once again the 6s will be well represented with five teams taking part – Melita, Nancy, St Kitts, Sioma and Thistle and you can keep up with all the news, results, photos and videos from the event at www.britishclassicyachtclub.org
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Thistle Crowned 2018 British 6mR Champion

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_e31aThe second and final leg of the 2018 6mR British Championship was hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron on the weekend of 16 and 17 June.
Saturday’s high tide at 1345 coincided with a south westerly breeze of 25 knots gusting to 35 knots to create an aggressive and particularly large Solent chop which was highly unfriendly to metre boats.  Following consultation with both the 6mR and 8mR fleets the Race Officer wisely decided to abandon all racing for the day.
UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_e31cThe breeze was still strong on Sunday so the Race Officer called an 09.00 briefing and elected to send the fleet east into Osborne Bay and the lee of the Island to protect them from the worst of the heavy south westerly.
Four boats started the first race in 16 knots gusting to 20 with the course laid up into the bay with heavy tide running outside the channel marker buoys. All boats got a good start, with Thistle leading around the top mark and holding this lead from Nancy and Valdai. Unfortunately a broken vang mast fitting forced Melita to retire 
UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_e323The three remaining boats started the second race in a steady 21 knots gusting up to 25.
Nancy sailed an excellent first leg to lead by four lengths from Valdai & Thistle who followed her around the mark neck & neck.
With the wind increasing all the time Valdai sailed well to hold off Thistle (seemingly sailed by nearly all the Richardson family!) and both boats caught up Nancy. As they came into the leeward mark at the end of the first lap, Thistle was forced to release her spinnaker halyard leaving it flailing in the wind all the way up the second beat. At the windward mark the crew just managed to make contact with the spinnaker halyard. This was just as well as rounding the spreader mark the spinnaker was needed immediately to keep up with Valdai, who did not fly one on the down wind leg still but managed to hold off Thistle. While Nancy romped home to victory it was a fight to the line for second place. Valdai took it from Thistle in third.
In the overall standings the British Open 6mR Championship and the Dudley Head Trophy for UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_e316the Classic Championship were both won by Thistle, who claimed victory by just a single point from Valdai. Huge congratulations go to Tom Richardson and his various family crews for putting in such a spectacular performance.

Despite the vagaries of the weather a fantastic championship was had by all. Our thanks to the Royal Yacht Squadron team for hosting an excellent regatta, to the 8mRs who provided great camaraderie as our event partners and to all the 6mR sailors for such terrific competition.

The final results from the regatta can be found at www.rys.org.uk
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Forecast Looks Good For 2nd Leg of Nationals

This weekend the 6 Metre fleet will gather once again at the Royal Yacht Squadron for the second and final weekend of the 2018 British Open Championship.  The Met Office tells us we can expect brisk south westerlies all weekend so we should be in for a spectacular finish to what has already been a very close competition.

We will have a full report of all the action for you next week, but over the weekend you can look out for the daily results at www.rys.org.uk

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British Championship – Part 1

_MG_4373-webThis year’s British 6mR Championship is taking place over two weekends and the weekend of 3 and 4 June saw the fleet come together off Cowes for the first leg of the event. The weather gods were smiling and the fleet enjoyed some wonderfully close racing as well as a very convivial atmosphere ashore at the host club, The Royal Yacht Squadron. The 6s were racing alongside the 8s which made for a wonderful spectacle and added greatly to the overall ambiance of the event.

_MG_4234-web“It was a truly lovely weekend with two days of champagne sailing and a very friendly atmosphere with both us and the 8s. Having completed 4 races we already have a valid series and can look forward to more terrific racing in two week’s time.” Noted British 6mR Association Chairman Robin Richardson.

Saturday’s first race took place in a lovely 12-16 knot westerly and with the tide flooding the boats took off in lovely flat water. The original intention was to run a 5 leg windward leeward course over the Bramble bank, but the impending 90 minute time limit meant that the Race Committee wisely decided to shorten to 4 legs. Robin Richardson’s St Kitts drew first blood, closely followed by Tom Richardson’s Thistle with Robert Owen and Dirk Stolp’s Valdai third.

_MG_4348-webThe tide was on the turn and the breeze had picked up to 18-22 knots by the start of race 2, which resulted in some wind over tide chop and added to the apparent wind strength on the beats.  Whilst the right side of the beat had paid during race 1’s flood, for race 2 the smart money was on the left. St Kitts had the measure of the conditions, taking her second victory of the regatta, with Valdai second and Andy Short’s Nancy third.

_MG_4310-webAfter racing Tom Owen noted that “St Kitts pulled away quickly from the four classic boats in both races. Valdai started well in both races and finished strongly in the second race to take 2nd place for the day.  Thistle also showed good speed in the heavy breeze.”

Sunday brought light and variable conditions with the breeze never really getting above 10 knots. With a strong flood tide against them and not a lot of wind with which to make progress, the entire fleet was late to the line for the start of race three. St Kitts was the first to make it across the start line. Valdai and Thistle followed St Kitts out to the left _MG_4361-webwhile Andy Short’s Nancy and David Roberts’ Melita took off right. Melita initially looked to have the windward advantage, but Nancy was able to sail higher whilst maintaining pace and eventually Melita was forced to tack off. The strong tide swept the fleet downwind and early drops at the leeward mark were the order of the day to avoid being swept past the mark. Valdai had damaged a spinnaker on the opening day and was forced to use a smaller kite and struggled on the first downwind leg before hauling herself back up the fleet again. Once again St Kitts took the line honours with Valdai second and Thistle third.

_MG_4308-webThe Race Officer elected to run a short fourth and final race for the weekend on a single lap course. Valdai got a bad start in the final race of the weekend because the light airs had resulted in delays to racing and they had been forced to drop a crew member into a RIB to catch a flight. Off the line she and Nancy went hard right with the other boats going hard left.  By the time they had reached the windward mark they appeared to have a healthy lead over Thistle, but they hadn’t quite laid the windward mark and instead of tacking they tried to hold their speed and shoot the mark. They didn’t quite have the legs to pull it off and Thistle cruised passed. By the wing mark Thistle had pulled out a lead of about 6 boat lengths. The lead shrunk but Valdai didn’t quite have enough pace to pass them before the one lap race finish. At the line St Kitts once again claimed victory with Thistle second and Valdai third.

In the overall standings at the end of the first leg of the National Championship the Modern 6 St Kitts unsurprisingly leads the fleet from her Classic counterparts, while second placed Valdai has a single point margin over Thistle in third.

_MG_4338-webThe second leg of the Nationals will take place over the weekend of 16 and 17 June, when competition for the final honours will be fierce, particularly for the Dudley Head Salver for the Classic Division.

Overall it was a fantastic weekend of 6mR racing with varied conditions; heavy breezes on Saturday, light conditions on Sunday and warm sun all weekend.  An excellent dinner with the three 8mR crews at the Royal Yacht Squadron was enjoyed by all on Saturday night and all the crews are looking forward to the second weekend of the championship.

Much missed this weekend were Scoundrel, Cream, Valhalla,  Bobkat and Sioma who we hope to see racing with us soon. Best wishes to Sir Robert’s speedy recovery from a hip operation – we look forward to having him back on the water with us very soon.

Click here for full results

Click here to read the report from the second leg of the regatta

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British Championship Ahoy

lw14_6mnats_0790June is going to be a busy month for BISMA with our British Open Championship taking place over the weekends of 2nd and 3rd June and 16th and 17th June.  The Championship is being held in association with the Royal Yacht Squadron’s Joint 6M and 8M Weekend Series. Full documentation and information on the regatta can be found at www.rys.org.uk/regattas/8m-6m-regatta-tbc

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BISMA

6mR Worlds ’23

Welcome to the online home of the British International Six Metre Association.

Over 1,200 Six Metre boats were built in total, of which some 450 are still in existence today, and the UK has one of the largest fleets. Some early Fife boats built in 1907 are still sailing – often against Moderns. Some Classics have been beautifully modified for cruising and others race regularly.

The class covers a wide range of sailing, whilst at the same time retaining the heritage of international racing in thoroughbred boats that don’t have to break the bank. All have one thing in common: their distinctive sailing silhouette and an adherence to a tried and tested formula. A tribute to the designers and builders. There is no doubt the class generates a passion and devotion driven by the stunning appearance of the boats and their historical significance.

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Now well over 100 years since the first rule was written, metre boats have been at the forefront of yacht development ever since – they were amongst the first boats sailing in the Olympics, right from the 1908 London Olympics until 1952 in Helsinki. 6mRs were also used for the British-American Cup (team racing and an event far more prestigious than the America’s Cup in its day) and the Seawanhaka Cup (match racing) through the 1930’s.

Of the other international rule classes, the 8mRs have been the first choice boat for many of European Royalty, some of the 23mR were converted to ‘J’-class yachts and the 12mR were the boats used to challenge for the Americas Cup for 30 years once racing started again after the war and until a more modern derivative was designed.

Hull designs have always been technologically advanced. Wing keels, rod shrouds and the latest in sail design and build on the Moderns contrast with the ageless wooden decks and fittings of the Classics. Both classes sail together; often the faster Classics mixing it with the Moderns. There has been a real resurgence of interest with many old boats being restored, new boats being built and some of the mega-stars of the sailing world choosing metre boats for their personal sailing. The International Six Metre Association has members in many European and American sailing centres.

Aims of BISMA

The UK 6mR fleet is largely based in the Solent with another group of boats in the West Country. The programme is devised to provide maximum opportunity to sail together, combined with the ability of the boats to get to each venue by sailing or transport. Many boats have a 7.5 ton lorry which is sufficient to move the boats and at each venue launching facilities are organised.

Friends & Crewing

If you have an interest in the class, please register as a ‘Friend’ mentioning your interest or become an Associate Member to support the class. Regular crew are encouraged to become Associate Members.