Please select your home edition
Edition
upffront 2024 December Leaderboard
Product Feature
Seldén PBB60 FIDDLE/BECKET, CAM BLOCK
Seldén PBB60 FIDDLE/BECKET, CAM BLOCK

8 Metre World Championship at Yacht Club Italiano - Opening Ceremony

by Yacht Club Italiano 27 Aug 2023 18:11 BST 28 August - 2 September 2023
8 Metre Worlds in Genoa © Jack Taylor

With the opening ceremony at the headquarters of the Yacht Club Italiano in Genoa, the World Championship of the 8 Metre Class officially started today at 18:00. This championship will see 20 yachts from 9 nations racing from Monday, August 28th, to Saturday, September 2nd.

The challenging weather conditions of the past few days did not prevent the boats from going out to sea yesterday for a tune-up regatta. The official start of the races - with the first race scheduled to start at 10:30 tomorrow, Monday, August 28th - is subject to weather conditions, which currently show an orange alert for the area. The fleet present in Genoa is incredibly diverse, with the boats having a considerable age difference. The oldest yacht, the Swiss Silhouette owned by Daniel C. Heine, dates back to 1910, while the most recent, Mirabelle from 2013, is owned by Australian Peter Harburg - who is also the owner of the 100' Black Jack, the line honours winner of the 2023 Giraglia and Palermo-Montecarlo.

Within the fleet, there are 3 Italian yachts: Serena Seragnoli Galvani's Aria (1936) representing the Yacht Club Italiano, Vera Mogna's Bona (1934) and Paolo Manzoni's Vision (1930).

The inaugural ceremony was attended by the Mayor of Genoa, Marco Bucci, who greeted and thanked all the sailors, along with the President of the International 8 Metre Class, Werner Deuring, and Yacht Club Italiano's President, Gerolamo Bianchi.

"It is an honor for our region to host the 8 Metre World Championship. Greetings to all the participants: I am sure they will be enchanted by our sea as well as our land. Kudos go to the Yacht Club Italiano for bringing a sports event to Genoa that will be exciting in its technical aspects but will also carry the scent of sailing history," said Simona Ferro, the Sports Assessor of the Liguria Region, who is always at the forefront of supporting the club's sports activities.

The 8 Metre S.I., a long history and a great tradition

In 1906, in London, the International Yacht Racing Association (IYRA) established the International Rule for Yacht Measurement and Rating, which definitively abandoned the 'tonnage' formula in favor of the "metric" distinction. This was done to overcome the long-standing problem that arose in international sailing events where each nation followed its own measurement and racing rules. Italy was represented by the Regio Yacht Club Italiano with Count Eugenio Brunetta di Usseax.

The new rule, promoted by Mr. Heckstall-Smith, who influenced the measurement formulas and contributed to the evolution of the modern yacht, was approved by the federal representatives of eleven nations. This led to the creation of a new regulation that transformed the previous English measurement formulas. It was extended to sailing classes of 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 15, 19, and 23 meters and the "Class A" for yachts over 23 meters.

Among the most enthusiastic organizations was the Yacht Club Italiano: in 1908, the YCI approved the award of the Coppa Italia to the 'new' vessels of the 8 Metre S.I. Class.

With an 8 Metre, we also witnessed a major sailing innovation with the new genoa jib, which was conceptually conceived and experimented for the first time on Cheta, owned by club member Francesco Giovanelli, during the 1925 Coppa Italia. Another 8 Metre from the Yacht Club Italiano, Italia, won the first Olympic gold medal in Kiel in 1936.

Today, the 8 Metre Class, with its long history, has seen the involvement of the most important naval architects of all time (Johan Anker, William Fife, Charles Nicholson, Beltrami, Alfred Mylne, Olin Stephens, Costaguta, Starling Burgess, Clinton Crane, Francois Camatte, Baglietto, Bjarne Aas, Frank Paine, Tore Holm, Gustav Estlander, Max Oertz, Henry Rasmussen, Jacques Fauroux, Ed Dubois, Pelle Peterson, Ian Howlett, Doug Peterson... to name a few). The Class is widely spread in Northern Europe and boasts over 100 perfectly restored boats around the world.

Find out more at www.yachtclubitaliano.it/en/news-544/8mr-world-championship.html

Related Articles

Eight Metre World Cup at Helensburgh overall
The fleet were greeted in the morning by many rainbows on the final day The fleet headed out for our final day's racing. Once again some stormy showers came through but the fleet were greeted in the morning by many rainbows all pointing to our piper piping away. Posted on 24 Aug
Eight Metre World Cup at Helensburgh Day 3
Will the wind ever stop? Apparently it only gets stronger! Will the wind ever stop? Apparently it only gets stronger! One race today, quickly squeezed in before the true storm began. Posted on 21 Aug
Eight Metre World Cup at Helensburgh Day 2
Come to Scotland we said. Come to Scotland we said... it's always sunny and a nice steady breeze! Except in August it seems! It appears we ordered a little bit too much on the wind front! Posted on 20 Aug
Eight Metre World Cup at Helensburgh Day 1
The class can't say that we didn't warn them about the weather Here in Scotland we are set. The class can't say that we didn't warn them about the weather, the forecast is looking distinctly Scottish with 8 knots gusting 36 for the week with a slight chance of water from the sky! Anything could happen. Posted on 19 Aug
Eight Metre World Cup comes to Helensburgh
The Coppa d'Italia was donated to the class by His Majesty King Umberto of Italy in 1908 The world-famous and prestigious Eight Metre World Cup yacht racing event comes to the Clyde from the 17-24th August this year featuring the World's most beautiful and iconic racing yachts. Posted on 3 Aug
Toronto team wins right to represent world youth
At 8-Metre World Championships in Scotland A team of seven young sailors from Toronto (Etobicoke) won out over submissions from several European countries to represent world youth in the 8-Metre World Championships being held August 17-24, 2024, in Scotland, U.K. Posted on 15 Jul
'Sira - One boat, two kings' by Mikkel Thommessen
Perhaps one of the most famous Norwegian yachts, with a history of racing & regatta wins The Norwegian 8 Metre Sira was built in 1938 to win the Kattegat Cup. She did that a total of six times - three of them with King Olav at the helm. King Harald took over Sira in 2006 and actively sailed the boat until 2022. Posted on 3 Feb
Oldest videos of sailing in 8m yachts
A look back into our video archive We delve into the past, and round-up all videos which show sailing in the 8 Metre class of yacht. Posted on 1 Dec 2023
8 Metre Worlds at Genoa, Italy overall
The Swiss 8 Metre Yquem II is the 2023 World Champion On the final day of the 8 Metre World Championship, with the boats waiting in the harbor for the wind to pick up, the rankings from yesterday were confirmed. Posted on 2 Sep 2023
8 Metre Worlds at Genoa, Italy day 4
Two more races with 15 knots of Scirocco and choppy sea Another day with the Gulf of Genoa in a state of grace: 2 more races with 15 knots of Scirocco and choppy sea. Posted on 1 Sep 2023