Blue Marlin (FIN-1) racing Onawa (US-6), Nayala (US-12) and Vema III (N-11) at the 2019 12mR World Championship.
“A major inspiration to host the 12mR World Championship in Helsinki, Finland next summer was the recent rebuild of Blue Marlin (FIN-1), said 2020 12mR Worlds Event Chairman and FIN-1 owner, Henrik Andersin. Thanks to her extensive refit (completed in 2014), the North European fleet of racing 12 metres now extends to the northernmost shores of the Baltic Sea. With her return to the racecourse, she is the first 12 to compete in Finnish waters since Heatherbell returned to England in 1914, exactly 100 years prior to Blue Marlin’s re-launch. (Heatherbell, a First Rule 12, won a bronze medal for Finland at the 1912 Olympics Games.)
Since her re-launch, Blue Marlin has been actively racing and cruising, participating in one major event per year. She has traveled to Sweden, Denmark, Germany and just returned to the Red Sky Shipyard in Kotka, after sailing in the United States at the 2019 12mR World Championship held in Newport, Rhode Island.
Based on his experience at the Worlds last summer, Andersin eagerly anticipates racing Blue Marlin against a substantial fleet of Vintage division 12s in his home waters. “At Newport we had a good 23 starts, we learned to sail hard and to never give up. We continued to improve throughout the series of Waypoints to the Worlds regattas and were gratified with our third place finish in the Vintage division. Also, we are very pleased with Blue Marlin’s performance; she is as solid as a rock and can take what is needed to win. Now with a new rig and modern sails we are fully fit for fighting and can’t wait to meet Jenetta (K-1) on the starting line for the first time next August.”
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Helsinki, Finland to Host 2020 12 Metre World Championship: A Historic Gathering of the 12mR Fleet is Expected
Blue Marlin racing at the 2019 12 Metre World Championship in Newport, RI – photo by: Chris Tucker
HELSINKI (September 3, 2019) – After a phenomenal 12 Metre World Championship in Newport, RI (USA), the NJK yacht club in Helsinki and the International Twelve Metre Association (ITMA) are moving at full speed to organize the next 12mR Worlds in Helsinki from August 16-23, 2020.
Approximately 15-20 12mR yachts raced by teams from a dozen countries are expected to compete. The European vintage fleet will be well represented and the organizers have high hopes for representatives for Modern and Grand Prix division boats well.
Blue Marlin (FIN-1) and the 2017 European champion Wings (K-15) raced by a Danish-Finnish syndicate, will both sail under the flag of the event host NJK– the oldest yacht club in Finland, founded in 1863.
It has been more than 30 years since the memorable 1988 12mR Worlds at Luleå — the last 12 Metre World Championship to be sailed in the Northern Baltic. ITMA Vice President Patrick Howaldt said: “The rapidly growing interest for the Twelves in Northern Europe is a testimony to the Class. Combined with NJK’s reputation for world-class racing, glamorous social events and vibrant Helsinki location, we expect the 2020 Worlds to exceed every 12mR event previously raced in the Baltic.
The fleet will include the 2019 European Champion, Howaldt’s famous Sparkman & Stephens design Vim (US-15), The recently rebuilt Jenetta (K-1) and Wilfried Beeck’s Trivia (K-10), both representing Germany, will also face off against the reigning 12mR Vintage Champion, Patrizio Bertelli’s Nyala (US-12) representing Italy and the Southern Europe 12mR fleet.
“After sailing Blue Marlin since 2014 in Continental Europe and recently in Newport, it will be exciting to race in my hometown waters with a fleet of impressive size,” said 2020 Worlds event chairman, Henrik Andersin. “This will be a historic occasion for us, no 12 Metre has raced in Finland since WWI. We are hopeful that all 15 of the Northern European 12mR fleet will participate and be joined by additional 12s from Southern Europe and the United States as well as some of the oldest gaff-rigged 12s in Europe.”
The organizers are currently working on logistics solutions that would enable participants from other continents to have their boats skipped to Helsinki for a reasonable fee.
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ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL 12 METRE CLASS
The 112 year-old International 12 Metre Class encompasses a living history of racing yacht design by the world’s foremost naval architects including Olin Stephens, Clinton Crane, William Fife III, Philip Rhodes, Johan Anker, Ben Lexcen and more who pushed their designs to the very limits of innovation. The resulting boats represented the pinnacle of yacht development from 1907-1987 for the highest levels of international sailing competition– the Olympic Games (1908-1920) and the America’s Cup (1958-1987). www.12mrclass.com
In case you missed it… contained within the July issue of Quest Magazine is the official 36 page program of the 2019 12mR World Championship. Contents include a full page profile of each team (pg 84), America’s Cup12mR Newport history (pg 110) and hundreds of photos! Program content begins on page 84, but additional 12mR and Newport takes are sprinkled throughout the entire magazine– ENJOY! Click to read online issue.
ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL 12 METRE CLASS
The 112 year-old International 12 Metre Class encompasses a living history of racing yacht design by the world’s foremost naval architects including Olin Stephens, Clinton Crane, William Fife III, Philip Rhodes, Johan Anker, Ben Lexcen and more who pushed their designs to the very limits of innovation. The resulting boats represented the pinnacle of yacht development from 1907-1987 for the highest levels of international sailing competition– the Olympic Games (1908-1920) and the America’s Cup (1958-1987). www.12mrclass.com
12 Metre World Championship: World Titles Claimed in Four Divisions
NEWPORT, R.I. (July 13, 2019) – It couldn’t have been any more exciting on the fifth and final day of the 2019 12 Metre World Championship hosted by Ida Lewis Yacht Club and organized by the International Twelve Metre Association’s (ITMA) Americas Fleet. With Nyala (US-12) having clinched her series early in the Vintage Division after a sweep of yesterday’s two races, it came down to today’s single race to determine World Champions in Grand Prix, Modern and Traditional Divisions. A 12 Metre Spirit Division also sailed, but with no World Championship at stake. Competing in total were 21 historic 12 Metres from six countries – the largest fleet ever gathered in North America.
Challenge XII (KA-10) owner/helmsman Jack LeFort (second from left) celebrates victory and a World Championship title after today’s final race of the 2019 12 Metre World Championship. (Photo Credit: Ian Roman)
In the fiercely contested eight-boat Modern Division, the stakes were high today for Challenge XII (KA-10), owned and skippered by Jack LeFort of Jamestown, R.I. Last night the team was disqualified after a protest hearing with Courageous (US-26), sailed by a Newport contingent led by Ralph Isham, Steve Glascock, Alexander Auersperg, Ward Marsh and Art Santry (helmsman). Falling from first overall to second, Challenge XII was tied on point score with third-place Courageous and two points behind Enterprise (US-27), helmed by Clay Deutsch of Newport. Going into today’s race LeFort knew that to win his division, he had to beat Courageous and put a boat between his team and Enterprise. He did that and more, closing out Courageous at the start and going on to win the race with a buffer of three boats on Enterprise. (Enterprise and Courageous wound up second and third, respectively.)
“We were obviously pretty low after getting thrown out last night (for tacking too close to Courageous at a mark),” said LeFort after racing. “We had to get everybody focused to keep doing what we’ve been doing.” With today’s victory, Challenge XII counted five first-place finishes in its nine-race series.
Clockwise from top: Crew work on Legacy (KZ-5); Legacy celebrates at the awards ceremony; Columbia (US-16); Challenge XII (KA-10) in its final race; Mauro Pelaschier, helmsman of Nyala (US-12) (Photo Credit: Ian Roman)
In the Grand Prix Division, where four boats from three countries competed, Denmark’s Legacy (KZ-5), helmed by Thomas Andersen with Jesper Bank serving as tactician, took the World Championship title with a one-point lead over New Zealand (KZ-3), owned by Gunther & Maggie Buerman of Newport, R.I. and co-helmed by fellow Newporter Brad Read and Lexi Gahagan of Wilmington, Del. As close as it was, however, Legacy had the series pretty much wrapped today. “We had to be very calm, enjoy the race and not be too hard working,” said Andersen, who counts this as his first time ever sailing a 12 Metre. “Even if we finished fourth we’d still win; we just couldn’t get disqualified or break down.”
Andersen said that Legacy, New Zealand and Kookaburra II (KA-12), owned by Patrizio Bertelli and helmed by Brazil’s Torben Grael, all seemed to be the same speed. “They were very fast, and we were lucky to beat them,” he said. “We could have easily been in third place.”
Columbia’s (US-16) owner and tactician, Kevin Hegarty of Newport with Anthony Chiurco of Princeton, N.J. at the helm took the World title in the Traditional Division after winning today’s final race. “We only had to make sure we beat Nefertiti (US-19) today, but before racing we talked about whether we should cover Nefertiti or just try to win,” said Hegarty. “We voted on going for it all and getting a first-place finish. We’re pretty psyched; we made many improvements to the boat over the winter and really prepared for this championship. It paid off.” Nefertiti, owned and helmed by Jon Sears Wullschleger of Sarasota, Fla. finished third overall, while American Eagle (US-21), sailed by the Eagle 2019 Syndicate of Middletown, R.I., finished second.
Even though she didn’t have to sail today, Italian Patrizio Bertelli’s Vintage Division entrant Nyala took to the racecourse to post her eighth victory in nine races. “We sailed a proper race, fought hard and learned something more in today’s bigger winds (13-16 knots) and waves,” said helmsman Mauro Pelaschier. “It was great training for next week at the New York Yacht Club’s 175th Anniversary Regatta (serving as the 12 Metre Jubilee).
The oldest 12 Metre in the regatta was Onawa (US-6), built in 1928 and sailed by a syndicate led by Jim Blanusha, Steven Gewirz, Louis Girard, Earl McMillen and Mark Watson of Newport, R.I. She finished second in the Vintage Division.
In the 12 Metre Spirit Division America II (US-42), skippered by Michael Fortenbaugh of Jersey City, N.J. won by one point over America II (US-46), its stable mate from the New York Harbor Sailing Foundation, skippered by Scott Curtis of New York, NY.
Clockwise from top: Vema III (N-11) in the 12 Metre Parade; Earl McMillen of Onawa (US-6) in parade dress; Courageous (US-26) accepts Waypoints Series Trophy; Awards Ceremony at the International Yacht Restoration School.(Photo Credit: Ian Roman)
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(results below)
2019 12 Metre Worlds
FINAL RESULTS – Nine Races
Day Five (July 13)
12mR – Grand Prix (4 Boats) 1. Legacy (KZ-5), Thomas Andersen / Jesper Bank, Munkebo, Fyn, Den – 1 -1 -1 -1 -3 -3 -2 -1-3; 16 2. New Zealand (KZ-3), Gunther & Maggie Buerman, Newport, RI, USA – 2 -2 -2 -2 -1 -2 -3 -2 -1; 17 3. Kookaburra II (KA-12), Torben Grael / Patrizio Bertelli, Arezzo, ITA – 3 -3 -3 -3 -2 -1 -1 -3 -2; 21 4. Kiwi Magic (KZ-7), Johan Blach Petersen, Aarhus C, DEN – 4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4; 36
12mR – Modern (8 Boats) 1. Challenge XII (KA-10), Jack LeFort, Jamestown, RI, USA – 1 -2 -1 -1 -2 -4 – 9(DSQ) -1 -1; 22
2. Enterprise (US-27), Clayton & Nancy Deutsch, Newport, RI, USA – 3 -4 -3 -3 -1 -1 -2 -2 -5; 24 3. Courageous (US-26), Ralph Isham / Steve Glascock / Alexander Auersperg / Ward Marsh, Newport, RI, USA – 2 -1 -2 -4 -4 -2 -3 -3 -3; 24 4. Victory ’83 (K-22), Dennis Williams, Hobe Sound, FL, USA – 4 -6 -4 -2 -3 -3 -1 -4 -2; 29
5. Intrepid (US-22), Jack Curtin, Toronto, Ont, CAN – 6 -3 -5 -6 -6 -7 -4 -5 -6; 48 6. Freedom (US-30), Charles Robertson, Guilford, CT, USA – 5 -5 -6 -5 -5 -5 -6 -9 -4; 50 7. Defender (US-33), Dick Enersen, San Rafael, CA, USA – 7 -7 -7 -7 -7 -6 -5 -8 -7; 61 8. Lionheart (K-18), Harry Graves, Grand Isle, VT, USA – 8 -8 -8 -8 -9 -9 -7 -6 -9; 72
12mR – Traditional (4 Boats) 1. Columbia (US-16), Kevin Hegarty / Anthony Chiurco, Newport, RI / Princeton, NJ, USA – 1 -2 -2 -1 -3 -1 -2 -1 -1; 14 2. American Eagle (US-21), Eagle 2019 Syndicate, Middletown, RI, USA – 2 -1 -1 -3 -2 -3 -1 -2 -5 (RET); 20 3. Nefertiti (US-19), Jon Sears Wullschleger, Sarasota, FL, USA – 3 -3 -3 -2 -1 -2 -3 -3 -2; 22 4. Easterner (US-18), Scott Bernard, Annapolis, MD, USA – 5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5; 45
12mR – Vintage (4 Boats) 1. Nyala (US-12), Mauro Pelaschier / Patrizio Bertelli, Arezzo, ITA – 1 -2 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1; 10 2. Onawa (US-6), Jim Blanusha / Steven Gewirz / Louis Girard / Earl McMillen / Mark Watson, Newport, RI, USA – 2 -1 -3 -2 -2 -4 -2 -2 -2; 20 3. Blue Marlin (FIN-1), Henrik Andersin, Kauniainen, Uusimaa, FIN – 3 -3 -2 -3 -3 -2 -3 -3 -3; 25 4. Vema III (N-11), Johan Troye, Oslo, Norway, NOR – 4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -3 -4 -4 -4; 35
12mR- Spirit (2 Boats) 1. America II (US-42), Michael Fortenbaugh, Jersey City, NJ, USA – 3 -1 -2 -1 -1 -3 -1 -2 -1; 15
2. America II (US-46), Scott Curtis, New York, NY, USA – 1 -2 -1 -2 -2 -3 -2 -1 -2; 16
ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL 12 METRE CLASS
The 112 year-old International 12 Metre Class encompasses a living history of racing yacht design by the world’s foremost naval architects including Olin Stephens, Clinton Crane, William Fife III, Philip Rhodes, Johan Anker, Ben Lexcen and more who pushed their designs to the very limits of innovation. The resulting boats represented the pinnacle of yacht development from 1907-1987 for the highest levels of international sailing competition– the Olympic Games (1908-1920) and the America’s Cup (1958-1987). www.12mrclass.com
