 Class symbol | |
 French Mac Miche – gold medalist at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm | |
| Development | |
|---|---|
| Year | 1907 (rule design) |
| Design | Development class |
The International Six Metre class is a class of classic racing yachts. Sixes are a construction class, meaning that the boats are not identical but are all designed to meet specific measurement formula, in this case International rule. At their heyday, Sixes were the most important international yacht racing class, and they are still raced around the world. "Six metre" in class name does not, somewhat confusingly, refer to length of the boat, but product of the formula; 6mR boats are, on average, 10–11 metres long.
The International rule was set up in 1907 to replace numerous handicap systems which were often local, or at best national, and often also fairly simple, producing extreme boats which were fast but lightly constructed and impractical. The Six Metre class was not the smallest rating established under the rule, but was nonetheless the most popular, and they were chosen as an Olympic class in 1908. However, it was not until revision of the Rule in 1920 when the Sixes really became a popular international racing class. The 1920s and '30s were 'golden age' of the International Rule boats and Sixes were still the most popular class, attracting top sailors and designers to compete for prestigious trophies such as Scandinavian Gold Cup and Olympic medals.
Alexander Robertson & Sons produced a total of five Six Metre yachts between 1921 and 1953. In 1937 their young naval architect David Boyd designed the sleek Six Metre racing yacht Circe, which was described by many as the most successful racing yacht produced at the yard. Mr J. Herbert Thom, one of the Clyde's best helmsmen sailed the yacht with tremendous success in America in 1938 and brought back the Seawanhaka Cup, which was successfully defended in home waters the following year. In later years Circe represented Russia in the 1952 Summer Olympics.
However, Six Metres were criticized as having become too expensive and towards the end of the 1930s they became more so, making the class too exclusive. Under what is known as the Second International rule (1920–33) the yachts had gone from being less than 9.1 metres (30 ft) in overall length to being almost 12 metres (40 ft). By 1929, the 5 Metre class was becoming more popular as a cheaper and smaller alternative for Sixes, but the final blow was creation of the International 5.5 Metre class in 1949. The 5.5 Metres soon replaced the Six Metres as the premier international racing class, and after the 1952 Helsinki Olympics Sixes were dropped from Olympic regattas. The Gold Cup was also transferred to the 5.5 m class from 1953 onwards.
Despite this, the class continued to exist, and new boats were made utilising the newest contemporary technologies, although sparingly. During the 1980s, many old sailboat classes experienced revival of interest and Sixes were at the forefront of this development. The Class has undergone a renaissance which has continued to this day, with many old yachts restored or rebuilt to racing condition. Six Metre competition is thriving once again with active fleets in Europe, North America and Scandinavia. Performance differences between classic and modern era Sixes are usually small and they can be raced together.
In 2019 the International Six Metre Association launched an online archive website, allowing researchers around the world to access historical information about the class.
|
Main article: 6 Metre World Cup |
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 Seattle USA 20 Boats |
US100 - St Francis V Tom Blackaller (USA)
|
KA8 - Pacemaker David Forbes (AUS)
|
US87 - May Be VII Sunny Vynne (USA)
| |
| 1975 Sandhamn 35 Boats |
S75 - May Be X Patric Fredell (SWE)
|
KA7 - Toogooloowoo V | US101 - Poisson Soluble | |
| 1977 Marstrand 19 Boats |
S91 - Irene Pelle Pettersson (SWE)
|
S88 - May Be XI Patric Fredell (SWE)
|
US111 - Razzle Dazzle Scott Rohrer (USA)
| |
| 1979 Seattle 25 Boats |
S97 - Irene Pelle Pettersson (SWE)
|
US100 - St Francis V Tom Blackaller (USA)
|
US115 - Warhorse Brian Wertheimer (USA)
| |
| 1981 Lake Constance Boats |
no wind | |||
| 1983 Newport Harbor 15 Boats[1] |
S104/US117 - Irene/California I Pelle Pettersson (SWE)
|
US116 - Chinook Carl Buchan (USA)
|
US118 - St Francis VIII Paul Cayard (USA)
| |
| 1985 Cannes FRA 39 Boats |
Z77 - Junior Philippe Dürr (SUI)
|
US120 - St Francis IX Tom Blackaller (USA)
|
N85 - Filippa Thomas Lundqvist (SWE)
| |
| 1987 Oyster Bay 23 Boats |
K86 - Scoundrel Bruce Owen (GBR)
|
S114 - Notorious Jörgen Sundelin (SWE)
|
S112 - J Cool Peter Norlin (SWE)
| |
| 1989 Marstrand SWE 37 Boats |
US120 - St Francis IX US120 John Kostecki (USA)
|
S125 - Kratos Pettersson |
S118 - Sexa Nova Johansson | |
| 1991 Torquay | SWE Leif Carlsson |
|||
| 1993 Cannes FRA 24 Boats |
ITA 74 - Nivola
|
SWE 115 - May Be XIV Patric Fredell (SWE)
|
Woodoo SWE122
| |
| 1995 Sandhamn 25 Boats |
S 114 - NOTORIOUS Carl-Gustav Piehl (SWE)
|
S 116 - INDISPENSABLE Jacob Wallenberg (SWE)
|
S 123 - STING Thomas Lundqvist (SWE)
| |
| 1997 Cannes 22 Boats |
GBR - Scoundrel
|
SWE - Sophie Too
|
SWE - May Be XIV
| |
| 1999 Modern Hanko 13 Boats |
SUI 77 - Fleau
|
SWE / FIN 115 - May Be XIV
|
GER 104 - Courage VII
| |
| 1999 Classic Hanko 32 Boats |
FIN 50 - Alibaba II
|
FIN 38 - Mariana
|
FIN 44 - Toy
| |
| 2003 Modern St.-Tropez FRA 20 Boats |
SWE114 - NOTORIOUS Carl-Gustav Piehl (SWE)
|
GER104 - COURAGE VII  Dietrich Grünau (GER) Albert Batzill (GER)
|
SWE125 - DELPHINA John Michael Larsson (SWE)
| |
| 2003 Classic St.-Tropez FRA 14 Boats |
FIN44 - TOY
|
FRA111 - DIX AOUT
|
GBR48 - CAPRICE
| |
| 2005 Modern Sandhamn 24 Boats |
GER - Courage IX Dietrich Grünau Albert Batzill Eddy Eich |
GBR - Battlecry Ben Clothier |
SUI - Fleau Bernard Haissly | |
| 2005 Classic Sandhamn 27 Boats |
DEN 64 - Sun Ray (1939/2005)
|
FIN 44 - TOY (1938)
|
FIN 12 - FRIDOLIN (1930)
| |
| 2007 Modern Cowes 23 Boats |
Fleau - SUI Bernard Haissly |
Battlecry - GBR Ben Clothier John Prentice |
Courage IX - GER Dietrich Grünau | |
| 2007 classic Cowes 25 Boats |
SWE 6 - Fagel Bla (1937)
|
DEN 64 - Sun Ray (1939/2005)
|
GBR 48 - Caprice (1946)
| |
| 2009 Modern Newport USA 9 Boats |
Sophie II Hugo Stenbeck (SWE)
|
Scoundrel Rob Gray (GBR)
|
Arunga Bob Cadranell (USA)
| |
| 2009 Classic Newport USA 24 Boats |
KC10 - Gallant
|
FIN12 - Fridolin
|
DEN65 - Great Dane
| |
| 2011 Modern Helsinki 9 Boats |
FRA 177 - Junior
|
SWE 115 - May Be XIV
|
SWE 132 - Sophie II
| |
| 2011 Classic Helsinki 45 Boats |
FIN 49 - Sara af Hangö Henrik Tenström (FIN)
|
KC 10 - Gallant Eric Jespersen (CAN)
|
US 83 - Llanoria Erik BentzanENTZEN (USA)en
| |
| 2013 Modern Flensburg 11 Boats |
CAN 135 - St. Francis IX
|
GBR 107 - Valhalla Robert Smith |
GER 118 - Courage IX Albert Batzill | |
| 2013 Classics Flensburg 23 Boats |
FIN 12 Henrik Lundberg (FIN)
|
NOR 71  Lars Guck (NOR)
|
USA 83 Eric Jespersen (USA)
| |
| 2015 Modern La Trinité-sur-Mer 19 Boats |
FRA 177 - Junior No Limit Yacht
|
SUI 132 - Sophie Hugo Stenbeck (USA)
|
CAN 111 - Blade Steve Kinsey | |
| 2015 Classics La Trinité-sur-Mer 23 Boats |
US 83 - LLANORIA Eric Jespersen (CAN) Herb Cole (USA) Pete Watkins (USA) Kris Bundy (USA) Peter Hoffman (USA) Matthew Henley (CAN)
|
K 22 - TITIA Andy Postle (GBR)
|
KC 10 - GALLANT Ben Mumford (CAN)
| |
| 2017 Vancouver[2] | SUI 77 - Junior Philippe Durr (SUI)
|
CAN 129 - New Sweden Ben Mumford (CAN)
|
K 12 - St. Francis IX Andy Beadsworth (GBR)
| |
| 2019 Modern Hanko FIN Boats[3][4] |
SUI 77 - Junior
|
|||
| 2019 Classics Hanko FIN 16 Boats |
E 16 King of Spain Juan Carlos (ESP)
|
|||
| 2022 Modern Sanxenxo ESP 22 Boats |
SUI 142 - MOMO
|
JUNIOR SUI 77 | SELJM POR 4 | [5][6] |
| 2022 Classics Sanxenxo ESP 18 Boats |
FRA 111 - DIX AOÛT Louis Heckly |
ESP 16 - BRIBON 500 | ESP 59 - AIDA | |
|
Further information: Scandinavian Gold Cup |
