With participation and interest in the International Six Metre Class currently running high, the International Six Metre Association (ISMA) is delighted to announce that the 2023 Six Metre World Championships will be hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS), Cowes, UK from 31 August to 8 September.

As usual the boats will be divided into Open and Classic divisions with teams from across Europe and North America already confirming their participation. Several new Sixes have been built in recent years and it is anticipated that another new boat will be launched in time to join the fleet in Cowes.

 Six Metre World Championships © Fiona Brown

Registration and measurement for the regatta will open on Tuesday 29 August, four practice races will take place on Friday 1 and Saturday 2 September (two each day), and World Championship racing will run from Monday 4 to Friday 8 August. A total of eight championship races are scheduled, with five races required to constitute the championship. Once six races have been completed a single discard will be introduced.

The regatta is being organised in association with the British International Six Metre Association (BISMA), which looks forward to welcoming international visitors to Cowes, the home of British Yachting. The Royal Yacht Squadron’s reputation for top class regatta management is world-renowned and for this event Peter Saxton from the RYS will be running the racing activities as the Race Officer (RO).

Class social events will be hosted at The Castle, the Squadron’s historic waterside clubhouse, and at Cowes Yacht Haven, the marina berthing for all competitors, where competitors will enjoy daily post sailing social gatherings and a special World Championship Class Dinner.

The Worlds will be the culmination of a summer of special Six Metre events in Cowes. For those who would like to train on the World Championship race area, there will be a series of warm up regattas, with events approximately every three to four weeks, including the British Open Championship (22-25 June) and a week of racing in July at British Classic Week (17-21 July).

Six Metre World Championships – photo © Fiona Brown

Special logistical and storage arrangements are being made for the boats in Cowes, further details of which are available from the event website. All Six Metre competitors are encouraged to contact Event Manager & Logistics Coordinator, Jess Gray (jessicagraypr@gmail.com), with details of their individual arrival and training schedules so that all the logistics of storage and launching in Cowes can be arranged.

Royal Yacht Squadron – Six Metre World Championships – photo © Fiona Brown

“The Squadron last hosted a Six Metre World Championships in 2007 and we are delighted to be returning there again for 2023. The British Sixes regard the RYS as their spiritual home, and we are looking forward to welcoming our international friends for a summer of fierce competition afloat and relaxed camaraderie ashore. Racing will be on windward leeward courses in the central and eastern Solent areas and with Peter Saxton and his expert race team from the Squadron, we can look forward to superb racing.” – Tom Owen, BISMA Chair.

The Notice of Race and online entry for the regatta, together with a host of supporting information, are now available from 6metreworlds.com.

by Fiona Brown