International Six Metre crews are gathering at the Clube Naval de Cascais (CNC) in Portugal for the 2022 International Six Metre European Championship, which will take place from 6 to 10 September. They have travelled from as far afield as the Pacific North West and New York in the USA and Finland and Romania in Europe to participate in this first major International Six Metre championship to be held off Cascais.
International Six Metre Association (ISMA) Chairman Louis Heckly summed up the fleet's excitement to race at this spectacular venue saying; "I can’t wait, unfortunately as a spectator this time, to attend this first ISMA championship held in Cascais and we are all very excited for the competition. The Club’s reputation for organising World class events is second to none and the arriving teams are being made incredibly welcome. The forecast for the week looks great with moderate breezes and glorious warm sunshine expected. With some of the top teams and sailors from across Europe and North America travelling to the event the racing is going to be really tight."
The fleet will be divided into two divisions, the Open and Classic Divisions, and the oldest boat racing will be Ted Schauman's Lisbeth V from Finland, which was designed in 1932 by the legendary Johan Anker and built in Norway by Anker & Jensen Byggnadsår. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the newest boat competing will be Dieter Schoen's Momo, designed by Judel Vrolijk, built by Christof Wilke and only launched earlier this year.
The reigning Open Division Champion, Michael Teweles and Philip Durr's Thisbe, a 1987 Pelle Petterson design, will be mounting a strong defence of her title but faces stiff competition. At her maiden outing at the Six Metre Worlds in Sanxenxo in June, Momo put in a dazzling performance to win with confidence and she will no doubt be hoping to claim her second major title in Cascais. The Clube Naval de Cascais's Honorary Commodore Patrick Monteiro De Barros, the man responsible for bringing the event to the CNC, has made the podium at many Six Metre events aboard his 1988 Pelle Petterson designed Seljm. This time he will be hoping to leverage home water advantage and add his name to the Coppa Giovanelli, which was presented by the Yacht Club Italiano as the perpetual challenge cup of the Open Championship.
Bribon 500, designed in 1947 by Arvind Laurin and helmed for this event by five time Olympian and double Olympic Medallist Ross MacDonald, will defend her Classic European title. Her challengers for the right to add their name to the President Woodrow Wilson Trophy include Romanian Catalin Trandafir's 1956 Sparkman & Stephens designed Essentia, whose crew includes Olympic medallists Eric Jespersen and Hugo Rocha, and Spain's Mauricio Sanchez Bella aboard the 1952 David Boyd designed Titia.
Ahead of the Championship many of the boats took part in the HM King Juan Carlos Trophy Regatta, which was raced from 2 to 4 September. The regatta provided the perfect opportunity for crews to familiarise themselves with the race area, and after three days of sailing six closely fought races had been completed. In the Open Division victory went to Momo by a two point margin from Seljm with Jan Eckert's 2020 Javier Cela designed Ginkgo Too taking third. The Classic Division was won by Bribon 500 with Titia second and Essentia third.
The CNC has a very well deserved reputation for running outstanding international events and is as famous for its hospitality as its race management. The Championship social programme kicked off with a Welcome Reception on the club's delightful waterfront terrace where Commodore José Sotto Mayor Matoso welcomed the competitors and thanked them for travelling to the far west of Europe to compete.
A well known Dragon sailor, José noted that some of the competitors this week already know Cascais well from the many Dragon events the club has hosted. But he warned them to expect rather different conditions for this Championship. He explained that whilst Cascais has a reputation as a strong wind venue, in fact during late summer the wind traditionally swings into the south and becomes much lighter, conditions which ideally suit the beautiful Sixes and a significant factor in deciding the timing of the regatta. With the forecast set for five days of glorious sailing he wished the competitors a successful event and invited them to enjoy all the delights that the beautiful town of Cascais has to offer.
Racing for the Championship is scheduled to commence at 14:00 on Tuesday 6 September when two races are planned. A total of eight races are scheduled with five racing being required to declare a valid championship. Once six races have been completed a single race discard will be introduced.
Further information about the Championship can be found at the event website at 6metre.com