Tag: #NewportRI

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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