Please select your home edition
Edition
2024 fill-in (top)

12 Metre World Championship - Sailors experience Déjà vu

by Jan Harley on 24 Sep 2009
The first day of racing at the 2009 12-Meter World Championships. Start of Race 2, Modern Division. From right-to-left, Victory 83, Freedom, Intrepid. 12 Metre World Championship. © Amory Ross / www.amoryross.com. Amory Ross http://www.amoryross.com

Some competitors at the 2009 12 Metre World Championship are certainly experiencing déjà vu as a veritable 'Who’s Who' of sailing walked the docks at Bannister and Bowen’s Wharves this morning as the first day of this long-anticipated event got underway.

From current America’s Cup poster boy Russell Coutts (Auckland, NZL), who is sailing on Kiwi Magic with Cup patron and skipper Bill Koch (Palm Beach, Fla./Osterville, Mass.), to Dawn Riley (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) who broke ground as team leader of the first women’s entry in the Cup, to noted British sailors Harold Cudmore (Cowes, GBR) and Andy Green (Lymington, GBR), there is a surfeit of recognizable faces. Twenty-six years ago when the America’s Cup was won by Australia (in 1983) in Newport, it ended the longest winning streak in sporting history (132 years). Four years later, two more milestones in the event’s history were marked: Dennis Conner became the first person to lose and then win the Cup, and the Twelves were sailed for the last time as the America’s Cup yacht of choice after 29 years.

'It’s wonderful to wander about the docks at Bowen’s and Bannister’s Wharf and see the 12 Metres here again, where they were in ’83, many of them with their same crews from then,' said Robin Wallace (Newport, R.I.) who was a member of Race Committee for the Challenger Series in ‘83 and is the Principal Race Officer for this event. 'With the current legal squabbles going on, people have become disenchanted with the America’s Cup, but this is like a re-awakening of the class, a reinvention of a competition that celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the 12 Meters first being used in the Cup.'

Divided into four divisions – Grand Prix, Modern, Traditional and Vintage – the 17 competing yachts sailed three races today, all in different wind levels in the Twelves old stomping grounds off Brenton Point. The southwesterly breeze went from light, increasing to 12 knots for race two, and into the mid-teens for the third race, with a relatively flat sea state until race three.

We broke a couple of sails,' said Dawn Riley who came to the event to participate in the Legends Forums and wound up racing on America II. 'But, we’re kind of a slower boat in the Grand Prix so we were happy to beat one of the boats to the top mark and almost to the bottom mark. And, we improved from the first race to the second race and everybody on board had fun. The bad news is you break sails and you can’t race, the good news is it was full-on physical, athletic, screaming, swearing . . . and everyone came out with smiles.'

Racing resumes tomorrow, Thursday, September 24, and concludes Saturday, September 27.

[Sorry, this content could not be displayed]

2009 12 Metre Worlds Results

Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2000, 3 races sailed (3 races total)

Place, Boat Name-Sail no., Skipper (Hometown), Finish positions, Total Points

Division I – Grand Prix

1. Wright on White-KZ3, Lexi Gahagan (Wilmington, Del.) 1-1-2, 4
2. Kiwi Magic-KZ7, Bill Koch (Palm Beach, Fla./Osterville, Mass.) 2-2-1, 5
3. USA-US61, Richard Matthews (W. Mersea, GBR), 3-3-3, 9
4. America II-US46, Michael Fortenbaugh (New York, N.Y.), 4-4-WDR, 13

Division 2 – Modern – Protests Pending

1. Victory 83-K22, Dennis Williams (Mashpee, Mass.), 1-1-2, 4
2. Challenge 12-KA10, William Borel (Paris, FRA), 2-4-3, 9
3. Courageous, US26, Stephen Glascock (New York, N.Y.), 4-2-4, 10
4. Freedom-US30, Ernest Jacquet (Boston, Mass.), 5-1, 11
5. Intrepid-US22, Jack Curtin (Toronto, CAN), 3-3-5, 11

Division 3 – Traditional

1. Weatherly-US17, Clay Deutsch (Newport, R.I.), 2-1-1, 4
2. Columbia-US16, Alain Hanover (Weston, Mass./Palm Beach, Fla.), 1-3-3, 7
3. American Eagle-US21, Charlie Millikin/Carol Swift (both Newport, R.I.), 4-2-2, 8
4. Nefertiti-US19, Sears Wullschleger (Nantucket, Mass.), 3-4-4, 11
5. Easterner-US18, Paul Callahan (Ft. Meyers, Fla./Newport, R.I.), 5-5-DNS, 16

Division 4 – Vintage

1. Northern Light-US14, Kip Curren (Middletown, R.I.), 1-2-1, 4
2. Gleam-US11, Einar Sissener (Oslo, NOR), 3-1-2, 6
3. Onawa-US6, Morten Kielland (Geneva, SUI), 2-WDR-DNS, 10

[Sorry, this content could not be displayed]

Fans can get updates on the racing via Twitter at http://twitter.com/12metre or watch live tracking of the boats online at http://www.kattack.com/ as each boat is carrying a Kattack transponder. Event photographers Meghan Sepe and Amory Ross will have dockside and racing photos online: http://meghansepe.zenfolio.com/p492606736 and amoryross.com. Additional information on the event, including complete results is available at
www.goldenyear2009.com
Hyde Sails 2024 - One DesignRooster Women's Wetsuit RangeNorth Sails Loft 57 Podcast

Related Articles

Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix day 1
Familiar rivals Australia and New Zealand top the leaderboard SailGP's largest-ever fleet (11 national teams) descended upon Dubai's Port Mina Rashid for the official start of the 2025 Season of the Rolex SailGP Championship.
Posted today at 3:22 pm
Vendée Globe Saturday Morning Update
Routing options, making the turn East The leaders, spearheaded by Charlie Dalin, are making the turn East in the Vendée Globe as they look to navigate the upcoming low pressure system in the South Atlantic.
Posted today at 11:43 am
SailGP: Day 1 - Kiwis top Dubai leaderboard
The Black Foils top the overnight leaderboard by a three point margin without having won a race The America's Cup champions, fresh from defending their title, a month ago, sailed consistently and the Black Foils topped the overnight leaderboard by a three point margin without having won a race.
Posted today at 10:36 am
2024 South American Championship Day 2
High winds and tight competition in Buenos Aires Paul Cayard (USA) and Pedro Trouche (BRA) battle head to head with Lucas and Leandro Altolaguirre (ARG).
Posted today at 3:22 am
2024 44Cup Nanny Cay Day 2
Nika recovers her mojo as Artemis Racing edges into the lead in the BVI Conditions on the British Virgin Islands' St Francis Drake Channel further improved today; still shifty, thanks to the islands to weather and the tropical clouds overhead, but with more wind - ranging from 9-13 knots.
Posted today at 12:08 am
Maxi Cup 2024 | Video on Scallywag's Bow
What the action is like up-close on the bow of a 100 footer when there's breeze Ever wondered what the action is like up-close on the bow of a 100 footer when the breeze is on?
Posted on 22 Nov
Etchells Worlds entries closing on 30 November
Just one more week to enter the Melbourne event The 2025 Etchells Worlds entries close in just over a week and the competition is continuing to ramp up at the Royal Brighton Yacht Club (RBYC).
Posted on 22 Nov
Vendée Globe Friday Evening Update
Plus SailGP Season 5 starts tomorrow! Charlie Dalin has extended his lead in the Vendée Globe, but he could shortly encounter lighter winds than the following pack, before they are hit by the developing low pressure system in the South Atlantic.
Posted on 22 Nov
Vendée Globe Race - Day 14 - Mind the Gap
Almost half the fleet are now across the Equator and into the Southern Hemisphere Of the 39 boats still racing in the Vendée Globe most are now out of the Doldrums and almost half are now across the Equator in the Southern Hemisphere. Thomas Ruyant (VULNERABLE) led the fleet across last night at 1910hrs yesterday evening.
Posted on 22 Nov
49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 sailors in SailGP
A look at the sailors from our classes competing this weekend The fifth season of SailGP launches this weekend in Dubai, bringing together 11 national teams and some of the world's best sailors.
Posted on 22 Nov