Xacobeo Six Meter World Championship 2022 at Real Club Nautico de Sanxenxo - Day 1
by Fiona Brown 15 Jun 2022 01:15 BST
14-18 June 2021
Xacobeo Six Meter World Championship 2022 - Day 1 © María Muiña / Xacobeo 6mR Worlds
The opening day of the Xacobeo International Six Metre World Championship 2022, hosted by the Real Club Nautico de Sanxenxo, produced two terrific races for the 40 teams from 15 nations competing. Although initially overcast and misty, the wind gods delivered a decent 12-14 knots from the southwest, which clocked right and dropped to around 6-8 knots as the sun broke through later in the day. The Race Committee opted for the inner course, which not only provided perfect racing conditions, but also allowed spectators at the RCNS clubhouse a grandstand view.
In the Open Division, the newly launched Judel/Vrolijk designed Momo, owned by Dieter Schoen, led race one from the off and came second in race two to end the day with a five-point overall lead. Jamie Hilton's 1986 Howlett designed Scoundrel, which shipped from the USA for the event, Johan Larson's 1988 Pettersson designed Rebecca from Sweden and Philippe Durr and Rainer Müller's defending World Champion Junior from Switzerland, a 1981 Pettersson/Howlett design, are all tied on eight points with Scoundrel claiming second overall thanks to a race two win, Rebecca third and Junior fourth.
In the Classic Division reigning champion Bribon 500, a 1947 Laurin design owned by Jose Cusi and helmed by Pedro Campos, got her defence off to a solid start with a third followed by a win giving her a two-point delta on her nearest competitors. On the water the opening race was won by Catalin Trandafir's 1956 Sparkman & Stephens designed Essentia, helmed by Erik Jesperson, and she went on to finish sixth in race two, putting her initially into second overall, however, back on the dock she faced a race one protest and was disqualified so drops down to eleventh overall. Essentia's disqualification was good news for ISMA President Louis Heckley's 1950 Aas designed Dix Août, which now lies in second place, two points ahead of Ossi Paija of Finland's Astree III, another Aas design but this time from 1959, which scored a sixth and a second. Andy Postle's Nirvana took seventh in race one and third in race two ending the day fifth overall.
Whilst the leader board is starting to take shape there's a lot of sailing to come. Several of the top players experienced mixed fortunes today and may well bounce back in the days to come. In the Open Division Jan Eckert's Gingkotoo placed second in race one but found herself down in tenth in race two so now sits seventh overall. Patrick Monteiro de Barros's Seljm sailed to a solid third in the opener but found it harder to gain traction in race two finishing in seventh for fifth place overall.
It was a similar story in the Classics where Mauricio Sanchez-Bella Carswell and the crew of Titia won race one thanks to Essentia's disqualification and followed with an eighth in race, putting them initially into fifth overall. Back ashore however they too found themselves in the protest room and disqualified from race two, dropping them down to ninth overall.
The closeness of the racing and the cut and thrust of some of the mark roundings confirm that we are in for an exciting regatta as the teams battle it out to find the Xacobeo Six Metre World Champions 2022.
Whilst the chase for the victor's laurels is always intense in the Sixes, equally intense is the love the owners and sailors have for these beautiful, complex and in many cases historic racing machines. An Olympic class for almost half a century from 1908 to 1952, the Sixes were also used as a testbed for the America's Cup during the 12 Metre era. The fortunes of the class may have waxed and waned over the years, but with new boats being built, classic restorations undertaken and entry into the fleet possible for a very modest sum through the second-hand market, the class retains a firm grip on its well-deserved reputation as one of the World's foremost development classes.
Another big appeal of the fleet is its camaraderie and love of a good party, and in this regard the Real Club Nautico de Sanxenxo is the perfect partner, as not only does the club run superb racing, but it also throws a world class party. Each evening the regatta village welcomes the sailors for complimentary entertainment, drinks, and food, all supported by some of Galicia's finest producers. This evening's supper offering was the local delicacy Fideuá with Chicken, which is to pasta what Paella is to rice. Huge thanks must go to the sponsors, official suppliers, and club team for laying on such spectacular hospitality.
The forecast for day two of the regatta is for an overcast day and very light winds from the northern quadrant, giving little chance of a sea breeze. The Race Committee will brief the competitors at 10:00 in the morning and if conditions allow races three and four of the eight race series will be run, with a planned first start of 13:00. The regatta continues until Saturday 18 June.
Provisional Results after Day 1: (top five)
Open Division
1. SUI142 - Momo - Dieter Schoen - 1, 2 = 3pts
2. USA126 - Scoundrel - Jamie Hilton - 7, 1 = 8pts
3. SWE119 - Rebecca - Johan Larson - 5, 3 = 8pts
4. SUI77 - Junior - Philippe Durr - 4, 4 = 8pts
5. POR4 - Seljm - Patrick Monteiro de Barros - 3, 7 = 10pts
Classic Division
1. ESP16 - Bribon 500 - Pedro Campos Calvo-Sotelo - 3, 1 = 4pts
2. FRA111 - Dix Août - Louis Heckly - 2, 4 = 6pts
3. FIN80 - Astree III - Ossi Paija - 6, 2 = 8pts
4. USA96 - Hanko III - Thomas Kuhmann - 4, 5 = 9pts
5. GBR33 - Nirvana - Andy Postle - 7, 3 = 10pts
Full results available here.