Category: PRESS RELEASES

12 Metre World Championship: ready to roll

NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND, USA (July 11, 2023) – The 2023 12mR World Championship, sanctioned by the International Twelve Metre Association and hosted by the 12 Metre Yacht Club Newport Station in partnership with Organizing Authority Ida Lewis Yacht Club, starts Sunday, July 30 and will continue with five days of racing (Tuesday through Saturday, August 1-5). For those who may not know, this is one of the most significant events related to Newport’s heritage as an epicenter for world-class sailboat racing. The America’s Cup, one of the most famous competitions between countries, was held here in Newport 12 times from 1930 to 1983, and for nine of those times, from 1958 to 1983, the sailboat used to determine the winners was the 12 Metre, a single-masted sloop ranging between 66-72 feet in length.

Ten historic 12 Metres will compete in the World Championship, which was last held in the U.S. (in Newport) in 2019. They include four yachts that have successfully defended the America’s Cup: 1958, Columbia (US-16); 1962, Weatherly (US-17); 1974 & 1977 Courageous (US-26) and 1980, Freedom (US-30).

On the 2023 roster, all but Weatherly and Nefertiti (US-19) competed at the 2019 12 Metre Worlds, which saw Challenge XII (KA-10) and Columbia each winning their respective divisions – Modern and Traditional – with returning helmsmen Jack LeFort (Winter Park, Fla./Jamestown, R.I.) and Kevin Hegarty/Anthony Chiurco (Newport, R.I./Princeton, N.J.), respectively.

In the Modern Division, returning 12 Metres Courageous, Defender (US-33), Freedom and Enterprise (US-27) all will be sailed by new groups. America’s Cup Hall of Fame member Dawn Riley (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) will skipper Courageous with a young and diverse crew from Oakcliff Sailing aboard. Andrew Rose (Newport Beach, Calif.) will take the helm of Defender, while Japan’s Takashi Okura will lead his team aboard Freedom, and Peter Askew (Key Largo, Fla.) will skipper Enterprise.

“This is a highly competitive group and we expect extremely close racing,” said 12 Metre Yacht Club Director Peggy Hersam. “You won’t want to miss it!”

In the Traditional Division, returning American Eagle (US-21) will be skippered by Bob Morton while newcomers to the Worlds Weatherly and Nefertiti will be skippered by Steven Eddleston (Bristol, R.I.) and Jack Klinck (Concord, Mass.), respectively.

In Vintage division, which will be combined with the Traditional Division for racing purposes here, Onawa (US-6) returns with Mark Watson (Newport, R.I.) at the helm.

12 Metre pre-worlds

Congratulations to Enterprise (US-27), sailed by Peter Askew (Key Largo, Fla.) for winning the 12-Metre Pre-Worlds in the Modern Division. Columbia (US-16), with Kevin Hegarty (Newport, R.I.) and Anthony Chiurco (Princeton, N.J.) leading the charge, won the combined Traditional/Vintage class. The Pre-worlds were part of Sail Newport’s 2023 Newport Regatta, held July 8-9 in Newport. Seven of the 10 Twelves registered for the Worlds competed over four races.

12 Metre parade

At 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 5, fans can cheer on their favorite teams during the Parade of 12 Metres. Led by Race Committee Signal Boat Casta Diva and dignitaries and VIPs aboard a special Palm Beach Motor Yacht, will consist of twelve historic 12 Metres (many of which sailed here during Newport’s America’s Cup days).

The 12 Metres will start east of Goat Island and parade clockwise around the harbor, past Newport Yacht Club, Bannister’s Wharf, Newport Yachting Center/Hammetts Hotel, the International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS), Ida Lewis Yacht Club, and New York Yacht Club where they will be saluted by cannon before heading out for their final race of the series. Catch them from these locations and just about every wharf on the east side of Newport Harbor. Give them a hip hip hooray, and look for Newport’s Boys & Girls Club kids who will be riding on Heritage (US-23) and Intrepid (US-22). The latter Twelve is a two-time winner of the America’s Cup and one of the most famous yachts worldwide!

racing schedule:

A total of nine windward-leeward races are scheduled over five days. (Four completed races shall constitute a regatta.) Yachts will sail either on Rhode Island Sound or north of the Pell Bridge on Narragansett Bay.

Tuesday, August 1 – Friday, August 4. Rendezvous location announced on VHF Radio channel 72 at 9:00 a.m. with the first warning signal at 11:00 a.m.

Saturday, August 5 Rendezvous location announced at 9:00 with first warning signal at 12:00 noon following the boat parade. No race will start after 3:00 on Saturday.

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Making the 12 Metre Worlds possible are sponsors Audrain Hospitality; Clarke Cooke House; Edge Realty; Flux Marine; Gill Marine; Hammetts Hotel; Jefferson’s Bourbon Lemon & Line; North Sails; Pallas Capital Advisors; Palm Beach Motor Yachts; PKF O’Connor Davies; Seabags; and Starkweather & Shepley Insurance.

Spectator and sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information, contact Peggy Hersam, 12 Metre Yacht Club Executive Director, 12myachtclub@gmail.com, +1 (203) 807-1066. Notice of Race and other race information available at www.12mrworlds.com.

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12 Metre World Championship: The Next Big Thing

NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND, USA (May 15, 2023)– NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND, USA (May 14, 2023) – Less than three months away and on the heels of the Ocean Race stopover, the 2023 12mR World Championship will be the next world sailing competition in Newport, R.I. Sanctioned by the International Twelve Metre Association and hosted by the 12 Metre Yacht Club Newport Station in partnership with Organizing Authority Ida Lewis Yacht Club, the event is scheduled for July 30-August 5 and will see ten or more historic 12 Metres sailing on Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound. The participating teams will hail from as far away as Japan and as close as Newport, which has become a universal hub for 12 Metre sailing and home to many 12 Metres in the Americas Fleet as a result of the America’s Cup contested here in 12 Metres between 1958 and 1983.

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Recent developments include the announcement that Oakcliff Sailing will campaign for the Worlds aboard Courageous (US-26), recently acquired by Kimbra and Mark Walter (Chicago, Ill./Los Angeles, Calif.) and famous for being one of only two Twelves to win the America’s Cup twice. The Courageous team will be comprised of young, diverse sailors selected from Oakcliff’s Acorn and Sapling training programs.

“This will be a bit of a David-and-Goliath situation with our young, aspiring sailors racing 12 Metres against the best of the best from around the world,” said Oakcliff Executive Director Dawn Riley, who is a member of the America’s Cup Hall of Fame and will helm the boat. “Most of our sailors and some of their parents were not even alive the last time this class competed for the America’s Cup.”

Nevertheless, the team has a fighting chance based on the skills and teamwork sure to be derived from Oakcliff’s high-performance training programs. Located on the North Shore of Long Island in Oyster Bay, the organization is devoted to raising the caliber of sailing in the U.S. and is an official training center of the US Sailing Team, 11th Hour Racing, NYYC American Magic, IYRS, and the World Match Racing Tour.

Like many of the 12 Metres coming to Newport for the Worlds, Courageous will compete in two class-sanctioned regattas: the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta, June 9-11 and the Sail Newport Regatta, July 8-9 (serving as the 12 Metre Pre-Worlds).

Practicing last week on Narragansett Bay was Japan’s Takashi Okura and his highly competitive international team aboard Freedom (US-30). They will be up against packed talent in the Modern Division aboard the aforementioned Courageous (US-26); Defender (US-33), skippered by veteran 12 Metre sailor Andy Rose (Newport Beach, Calif.); Enterprise (US-27), skippered by renowned racer Peter Askew (Key Largo, Fla.); and Challenge XII (KA-10), skippered by 2019 12 Metre World Champion Jack LeFort (Winter Park, Fla./Jamestown, R.I.) with local sailing celebrity/champion Ken Read aboard.

Other teams competing in the Worlds are returning 2019 World Champion Columbia (US-16), American Eagle (US-21), Nefertiti (US-19), Weatherly (US-17), and Onawa (US-6).

The 12 Metre Worlds will be headquartered at the International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS) where the 12 Metres will be berthed throughout the event. The public can see the boats at IYRS from the water and will be able to view the 12 Metres during the Parade of Sail through Newport Harbor, which will take place Saturday, August 5 at 10:00 AM. The 12 Metre Yacht Club will further involve the community through its partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Rhode Island (BGCRI). Kids from BCGRI and local students involved in the Sail Newport educational program will ride aboard the Twelves in the Parade.

Closer on the horizon is a special “Golden Age of 12 Metres in the America’s Cup” program, scheduled for June 8 and hosted by the America’s Cup Hall of Fame at The Sailing Museum in downtown Newport. This ticketed event will relive the excitement and glamour of one of the most exhilarating periods in America’s Cup history. With many 12 Metre luminaries expected to attend, it will be emceed by Hall of Famer Gary Jobson, a renowned commentator who won the America’s Cup in 1974 as crew aboard Courageous (with Ted Hood skippering) and again in 1977 as tactician (with Ted Turner skippering). The celebration of 12 Metres will continue at a 12 Metre Legends party on July 30 at the Clarke Cooke House. Hosted by the 12 Metre Yacht Club and the America’s Cup Hall of Fame/Herreshoff Museum, this event officially kicks off the Worlds.

Making the 12 Metre Worlds possible are sponsors Audrain Hospitality; Edge Realty; Flux Marine; Gill Marine; Grand Banks Marine Group; Hammetts Hotel; Lemon & Line; North Sails; Pallas Capital Advisors; PKF O’Connor Davies; Seabags; and Starkweather & Shepley Insurance.

Spectator and sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information, contact Peggy Hersam, 12 Metre Yacht Club Executive Director, 12myachtclub@gmail.com, +1 (203) 807-1066. Notice of Race and other race information available at http://www.12mrworlds.com.

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Legendary SAilboats Tied to America’s Cup Will Provide Spectacular Racing

NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND, USA (December 8, 2022)– Next summer in Newport, R.I., an exciting schedule of competitive sailing will be punctuated by the 2023 12mR World Championship, an International Twelve Metre Association (ITMA) event organized by the 12 Metre Yacht Club Newport Station (official home of ITMA’s Americas 12mR fleet) in partnership with Organizing Authority Ida Lewis Yacht Club. With racing set to take place July 31-August 5, an international fleet of 12 Metres will converge on Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound much as they did in the years between 1958 and 1983 when many of these awe-inspiring sailboats competed here for a chance to become a contender in the renowned America’s Cup and, more recently, when they vied for class titles at their 2019 12mR Worlds. (The most recent 12mR World Championship was held in 2021 in Helsinki, Finland.)

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“It’s very special that this event is returning to Newport, especially because of the rich history this city shares with the America’s Cup,” said Peggy Hersam, Executive Director of the 12 Metre Yacht Club Newport Station. “A large concentration of 12 Metres, many of which have ties to the Cup, make their home in Newport; however, the fleet is worldwide and going strong. It will be amazing for visitors and locals alike to encounter these iconic boats tuning up for and competing in this most important event.”

Leading up to the 2023 Worlds, the fleet will be busy racing a full schedule of regattas and practices out of Newport, including two class-sanctioned regattas, the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta, June 9-11 and the Sail Newport Regatta, July 7-9 (serving as the 12 Metre Pre-Worlds). The fleet will be divided into five divisions — Grand Prix, Modern, Traditional, Vintage, and “Spirit of Tradition”— and have healthy representation in each, including returning 2019 World Champions Columbia (US-16, Traditional Division) and Challenge XII (KA-10, Modern Division). Other teams expected to compete include America II (US-42), America II (US-46), American Eagle (US-21), Courageous (US-26), Defender (US-33), Enterprise (US-27), Freedom (US-30), Gleam (US-11), Intrepid (US-22), Nefertiti (US-19), Onawa (US-6), and Weatherly (US-17).

Weatherly’s owner/skipper Steve Eddleston, who also serves as Commodore of the 12 Metre Yacht Club Newport Station, said his work will be cut out for him. “It’s always exhilarating to be out on the water with our beautiful boat and our skilled and determined team sailing against other world famous 12 Metre yachts of such historic distinction,” said Eddleston. “To paraphrase John F. Kennedy from 60 years ago when he spoke in Newport about the America’s Cup duel between Weatherly and Gretel, ‘We are most certainly racing against each other, but we are also racing with each other against the wind and the sea.’ Nothing comes close to competing in a 12 Metre World event!”

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A base camp for the teams during the five days of Worlds competition will be established at the International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS). Organizing Authority Ida Lewis Yacht Club will provide another stellar Race Committee and support volunteers for a variety of posts during the regatta, while a cadre of all-star international judges will fly in for this prestigious event.

Social events are planned for every evening of the Worlds, including the Opening Ceremonies, a ‘Legends’ Dinner at the Clarke Cooke House, post-racing socials, and an Awards Gala at IYRS. The 12 Metre Yacht Club will further involve the community through its partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Rhode Island, giving underserved children a chance to learn about the boats, their history, and the crews and science that drive them.

Spectator and sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information, contact Peggy Hersam, 12 Metre Yacht Club Executive Director, 12myachtclub@gmail.com, +1 (203) 807-1066.

Registration and Race Documents including the Notice or Race can be found here.

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