Six Metre European Championship 2024 at Real Club Nautico de Sanxenxo - Day 4

Six Metre European Championship day 4 © SailingShots by Maria Muiña

The weather gods have not been making life easy for the sailors of the International Six Metre European Championships 2024 Trofeo Xacobeo in Sanxenxo.

After three very tricky days with low visibility and lots of rain but good wind, day four was the opposite with dry conditions but barely a breath of wind, so the scheduled race six could not take place. Five races have so far been completed and three races remain to be sailed between now and Saturday 6 September. The single discard comes into play once race six has been completed, which could shake things up considerably.

Race Officer Jano Martin explained the Race Committee's thinking as they look ahead to the final two days of the regatta. "The forecasts are changing every day. The view we see now looking ahead to tomorrow may change overnight and again tomorrow morning, so it is difficult to predict. If there is a chance, we will try to complete two races tomorrow."

In the overall standings His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain's ESP16 Bribon continues to lead the Classics Division from Ossi Paija's FIN80 Astree II with Mauricio Sanchez-Bella Carswell's ESP72 Titia third, Miguel Lago Cereceda's ESP50 Alibaba II fourth and Louis Heckly's FRA11 Fun fifth.

In the Open Division Rainer Muller's SUI77 Junior, skippered by Loic Forestier and Violeta Alvarez' ESP116 Stella are tied at the top of the leader board with Henrik Andersin's FIN81 Oiva a point behind them. Tied for fourth and just four points behind the leaders are Basil Vasiliou's USA105 Jane Ann, skippered by Steffan Lindberg, and Jeremy Thorp's GBR89 Battlecry. With so much to play for, the sailors are all praying that the weather gods smile on them at last tomorrow.

Luckily for the sailors, the Real Club Nautico de Sanxeno and surrounding area are a delightful place to hang out, with many great restaurants and bars and superb shops, so the sailors were able to make the most of their afternoon once the decision not to race had been confirmed.

Whilst of course the sailing is the primary focus of the championship, these international events are also a wonderful opportunity to appreciate the longevity and beauty of this extraordinary class.

The oldest boat sailing this week is Cesar Elizaga's FIN59 Ian, which was built in Gothenburgh, Sweden in 1929 and was the last boat designed by Gustav Estlander, who had her built for his own use. She was a successful boat and won the coveted Scandinavian Gold Cup in 1930. She continued racing in Sweden under various owners until 1988, when after 60 years under the Swedish Flag she was sold to Finland.

She raced regularly for a decade before beginning a complete refurbishment in 2003. She was relaunched for the 2007 racing season having been restored back to her original state. In 2015 she made the move south to Sanxenxo where she has played a pivotal role in developing the new Galician fleet.

At the other end of the spectrum, the newest boat racing is Henrik Andersin's 2022 Allan Savolainen designed Oiva, which was built by Red Sky Yachts in Finland. Andersin is an experienced Six Metre sailor, having owned a number of both classic and modern sixes over the years. The story of the construction of Oiva is told in a six-part series of articles which are available on the International Six Metre Archive.

The Six Metre Class dates back to 1907, and the introduction of the International Rule, also known as the Metre Rule. It has been at the forefront of technical innovation for over 120 years with the world's top designers and sailors bringing often radical concepts and technical excellence to the fleet. But alongside the incredible technical development and the amazing racing history of many of the boats, there are also dozens of wonderful personal stories of sailors and their families simply enjoying their Sixes for pleasure.

A message via the class Facebook page this week has reminded us of the special place Sixes hold in so many people's hearts.

Alibaba II was designed and built in Sweden in 1948 by Tore Holm, under whose helmsmanship she won a bronze medal for Sweden at that year's Olympics. In 1951 she was sold to Harry Melander, and it was Harry's daughter Lisa who reached out to say how thrilled she was to see the boat still racing successfully 76 years after she was built. Lisa told us that she well remembers sailing with her father and family to Åland in the Swedish archipelago during the summer holidays.

Under various names and ownerships Alibaba II has had an extraordinary sailing career to date. She won a second bronze Olympic medal in 1952, came second in the 1998 European Championship, won the 1999 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship. Now based in Sanxenxo she continues to be one of the top performing Classic Six Metres.

To find out more about the history of the Six Metre Class and the boats racing this week, please visit the International Six Metre Archive, where individual boat profiles and a host of fascinating technical and historic data is to be found. If you have additional information that you feel would be of interest to the archive, please contact the Archivist on

Racing at the International Six Metre European Championship 2024 Trofeo Xacobeo at the Real Club Nautico de Sanxenxo continues until Saturday 5 September with three races remaining to be sailed in the eight-race series.

Full results: toa.6meuropeans2024.com/results
Tracking: 6meuropeans2024.com/en/tracking-2
Event website: 6meuropeans2024.com