Countdown to 2016 Etchells Worlds in Cowes begins

Etchells racing off Cowes in the Solent © Hamo Thornycroft / www.yacht-photos.co.uk

With the 2015 Etchells Worlds now completed in Hong Kong, preparations for the 2016 event start to ramp up. Taking place from the 5th to 10th September the Championship will be run by the Royal London Yacht Club, based on The Parade in Cowes.

Fresh from victory at the 2105 Etchells Worlds in Hong Kong, the crew of Aretas declared their intention to defend their title in Cowes. John McLean spoke on behalf of the 3 man USA team, commenting that it had been a 5 year programme to take them to the pinnacle of one design keel boat racing. Having reached it, Skip Dieball, Jeff Eiber and John are determined to repeat that success in the testing waters of the Solent next year when the fleet will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Etchells.

It isn't just this year's winning team who has declared an interest: Australian clubs from Sydney and Melbourne alone have over 10 owners who have stated intentions to race, including the legendary John Bertrand, who sailed Australia II to become the first ever non-American winning helm of the Americas Cup, and more recently a double Etchells World Champion. John speaks with fond memories of his previous regattas here: "Both on and off the water, Cowes is one of the very best yacht racing locations in the world"

During the 2016 season, there is a schedule of Solent based regattas to help teams from across the globe prepare for the expected conditions, currently proposed is a 3 day coached regatta over the weekend preceding the Worlds.

For more information see 2016.etchellsworlds.org