Please select your home edition
Edition
Noble Marine 2022 YY - LEADERBOARD

8 Metre World Championship at Yacht Club Italiano - Day 4

by Yacht Club Italiano 1 Sep 2023 18:28 BST 28 August - 2 September 2023
8 Metre World Championship in Genoa Day 4 © jrtphoto / IEMA / YCI

Another day with the Gulf of Genoa in a state of grace: two more races with 15 knots of Scirocco and choppy sea.

The World 8 Metre Championship continues this week under exceptional meteorological conditions, with stable winds around 15 knots and, most importantly, a choppy sea that has tested the crews competing on the penultimate day of the 2023 world championship. With today's two races, the total valid races now stand at 8, and with the current forecasts, the Race Committee is optimistic about concluding the championship with two more races tomorrow, Saturday, September 2nd.

The race start procedures at sea began punctually at 11:45, with the starting line located just a few hundred meters from the shores of Quarto dei Mille. It was a spectacle for those at sea and for those who could enjoy the sight of the 8 Metres dancing from the shore. As is now customary, there were very aggressive starts, and on the second attempt, the Committee had to give both starts with a black flag. The consistent wind allowed these magnificent yachts to show their full potential with remarkably fast race times. Almost all of them completed the four legs of the course in just over an hour, with the entire fleet arriving within a 10-minute span, except for the two older hulls, Silhouette (1910) and Elfe II (1912), which, with grace and elegance, always struggling to catch up with the fleet but certainly stand out for their timeless beauty and their antique rigs.

The results after 8 races leave little room for serious changes, with the 3 modern boats (Swiss Yquem II, Austrian Conquistador, and Australian Mirabelle) having solidified their positions in the overall standings. The gaps between them are significant, but with two more races to go, the world title will be decided at sea tomorrow.

Behind the 3 modern boats, the three yachts from the 1930s, Bona, Vision, and Carron II, are still very close, occupying the fourth, fifth, and sixth positions respectively. There was great excitement on the dock at the end of the races, as evidenced by Mark Bradford, the helmsman on board Mirabelle by Peter Harburg, as well as the skipper of the 100' Black Jack: "Another beautiful day at sea, very competitive races, and a formed wave. We are very pleased to have come to Genoa and were surprised by these conditions."

Jean Fabre, the Swiss owner of Yquem II, shares the same opinion: "First time in Genoa, and after 15 years of sailing with this boat, we are very satisfied. Both for the results and for the beauty of the place and the racecourse."

Join us at sea tomorrow for the final day of this World Championship with the first race starting at 11:00 AM.

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 3
Swiss team of Yquem II solidifies their lead in the provisional rankings With another day blessed by perfect weather conditions, the series of races in the 8 Metre World Championship continues with two more races today: a southerly wind between 10 and 13 knots, choppy sea and sunshine. Posted on 31 Aug 2023