Eau Vive and Jill claim first victories at 2025 Six Metre World Championships
- Race one completed but race two abandoned due to dying wind at 2025 Six Metre World Championships on Long Island Sound
- First victory in the Open Division goes to reigning World Champion Jamie Hilton of the New York YC and his team aboard Rainer Müller’s brand-new Ian Howlett designed Au Vive
- Classic Division first win claimed by the 1931 S&S designed Jill of Alessandro Maria Rinaldi from the YC Costa Smeralda
23 September 2025 – Oyster Bay, NY, USA – After the disappointment of a wind and raceless day one, the 2025 International Six Metre World Championships at the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club finally got underway in warm sunshine and a south-westerly of around 6-8 knots. Although two races were scheduled and started, only race one could be completed. The second race was started, but towards the end of the first lap the breeze began to breakdown and the decision was made to abandon the race for both fleets and send them home.
The one race that was completed saw some really close light airs racing for both fleets. In the Open Division reigning World Champion Jamie Hilton of the New York YC and his team aboard Rainer Müller’s brand-new Ian Howlett designed Eau Vive got a great start to led the race from the off. Dieter Schoen’s new Judel/Vrolick designed Momo II was the only boat to seriously challenge them and these two gradually stretched out from the chasing pack with Eau Vive looking super-fast downwind and pulling out her led on the final run to win by some 40 seconds. Behind them the battle for third place was fierce, with boats constantly changing places as the breeze clocked right. Ultimately third place went narrowly to Reigh North racing Sting for the Royal Vancou.ver YC, with Foti Lykiardopulo’s Aera of the Royal Yacht Squadron fourth, Laurence Clerc and Nicolas Berthoud’s Junior of the SN de Genève sailing Junior fifth, and Basil Vasiliou’s Jane Anne from the New York YC sixth.
In the Classics the 1931 S&S designed Jill of Alessandro Maria Rinaldi from the YC Costa Smeralda proved that she’s not just a pretty girl. A solid start in the middle of the line set her up nicely to lead at the first mark and she elegantly defended from there. But behind her it was like snakes and ladders. At the first mark it was the young team of Cameron Wallace aboard Ca Va (1938) from the Royal Victoria YC that led the chasing pack, closely followed by His Majesty King Juan Carlos’s Bribon (1947) from RCN Sanxenxo, with Greg Stewart from the San Diego YC sailing Sprig (1930) fourth and Louis Heckly’s Fun (1937) from YC de France fifth. But it was all change on the second lap, where Fun dug deep, did a great job with the shifts and sailed impressively fast to finish second, with Bribon a very close third, Ca Va fourth and Spring fifth.
Third placed Reigh North was particularly pleased with their performance aboard Sting. “The wind was good when we first went out and then it was slowly dying as the day went on. They got the first race off and we had maybe 7-8/9 knots of breeze, it was shifty, and you had to play the current and we did that well, and we’re confident in our boat that it’s going well, so we were happy with where we ended up today. We love the Six Metre Class, and we love it when all the boats get together to race. They are just incredible boats, they are so powered up, and they move and the technology and the design effort that goes into them, and they’ve stood the test of time. Some of the Classics out here are 100 years old and they’re still racing on the water today. And the level in the class is very very high. We’ve got some of the top people in the world here so it’s fun. It’s nice rubbing shoulders with them.”
After racing Louis Heckly summed up their day saying, “We are lucky to have our first race in, which opens the Championship and already we are able to see the big guns and a couple of teams that can pretend for the world title this year. We have not had such a bad start for the whole season, until today, but we managed to go on the good side of the course and make it OK at the end, so we were quite happy to end up in second from ninth position on the first leg. I think it is amazing to see this one class with two divisions coming together on the same racecourse. It’s such a pleasure to see 100-year-old boats playing just as hard on the same racecourse as boats that were built this year.”
Bribon also very much enjoyed their day out as Ross MacDonald explained, “It was good, I think the conditions velocity wise were maybe a little bit lighter than we were expecting really. I think everyone was having a little trouble figuring out the wind shifts. There was a general consensus that at some point the wind would go to the left, but it never really did so that kept us all guessing a bit. It’s fun being in a somewhat new location because you see some different boats that you don’t normally see and some of the other Six Metres here, especially the classic ones, are just spectacular. It was great to see Jill have a win today. They deserved it, they had a great start, and they went in the correct direction, so it was nice to see Jill on top in their first World Championships.”
Alongside the fleet regulars there are a number of newcomers taking part in their first major Six Metre regatta. These include JP Blaise of the Seawanhaka CYC, who summed up his feelings after his first ever world championship race aboard Nuvolari. “I think it was fantastic. The Race Committee had a very hard call on Monday, the first day of the event, to postpone ashore, but clearly it was the right call, so we weren’t out there just floating around doing nothing all day. And it gave a chance for the teams to really kind of mingle a bit and get to know each other. This is our first event, and we’re super thrilled to be here. We’re under the very generous eye of Rainer Müller who has graciously lent several boats to the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club so we are able to compete in the event. We’re having a fantastic time, the class if very competitive and very humbling but our boys are really enjoying it.”
With only one of the possible eight races completed so far, and a minimum of five races required to validate the championship, the Race Committee has revised the schedule to allow 2 races to be sailed on each of the remaining three days. Racing is due to start at 11.30 again on day three, when the forecast promises more light and tricky conditions, with the added delight of drizzle.
You can follow the latest news on the ISMA’s Instagram and Facebook channels and via 6metre.com.
Provisional Race 1 Top Five
Classic Championship
1. USA56 – Jill – Alessandro Maria Rinaldi
2. FRA11 – Fun – Louis Heckley
3. ESP16 – Bribon – Real Club Nautico Sanxenxo
4. SUI112 – Ca Va – Rainer Müller/Cameron Wallace
5. USA43 – Sprig – Greg Stewart
Open Championship
1. SUI144 – Eau Vive – Rainer Müller/Jamie Hilton
2. IVB145 – Momo II – Deiter Schoen
3. SUI127 – Sting – Rainer Müller/Reigh North
4. GRE1 – Aera – Foti Lykiardopulo
5. SUI177 – Junior – Laurence Clerc/Eric Monnin
| About The International Six Metre Association |
| The International Six Metre Class has managed to retain the heritage of international class racing in thoroughbred boats that don’t have to break the bank. We believe some 1225 Six Metre boats exist around the world today. Early Fife boats built in 1907 are still racing – often against new Moderns. Some classics have been beautifully modified for cruising; several race only occasionally. The class has managed to cover a wide range of sailing need. All have one thing in common: their distinctive sailing silhouette and an adherence to a tried and tested formula. They are a tribute to their designers and builders, and there is no doubt the class generates a passion and devotion driven by the stunning appearance of the boats and their historical significance. Now more than a century since the first rule was written, metre boats remain at the forefront of yacht development – they were among the first boats sailing in the Olympics, right from the 1908 London Olympics until the 5.5 Metres in 1968 in Mexico, and Six Metres were regularly used for the British-American Cup (team racing and an event far more prestigious than the America’s Cup in its day). The Six Metres have also been used for the legendary Seawanhaka Cup (match racing) no less than 16 times from 1927 through to 1987, by far the largest number of appearances by a class in the event. Hull designs have always been technologically advanced. Wing keels, rod shrouds and the latest in sail composition on the Moderns contrast with the ageless wooden decks and fittings of the Classics. In recent years 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 most European and American sailing centres. www.6metre.com |
