TEXT RON VALENT PHOTOGRAPHS JAMES ROBINSON TAYLORThe International Rule may be 110 years old, but in the Baltic the
Metre boat scene is booming, with newly restored and newly built
yachts joining the fl eet regularly. The 8-Metre Worlds on the
island of Hankø in the Oslo Fjord, in August, was a glowing
testimonial to the Baltic movement and the durability of the Rule.
The event was buoyed by the presence of King Harald of
Norway, who celebrated his 80th birthday by competing in his
Johan Anker-designed Sira. Showing the International 8-Metre
Association’s honorary life president no respect on the water
were crews from England, Scotland, Canada, Australia, Austria,
Finland, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Switzerland and a strong
contingent from Norway.
An 8-Metre World Championship o ers four cups to fi ght for:
the First Rule Cup for yachts designed before 1920 or fi tted with
a ga rig; the Neptune Trophy for yachts designed before 1960,
whose rig and deckware are still period correct (wooden spars,
Dacron sails and no self-tailing winches); the Sira Cup for yachts
designed before 1960, but with modern rigs, hardware and sails;
and the International 8-Metre Cup, for which all Eights with a
valid rating certifi cate are eligible. In theory, any boat could win
this cup, but in reality modern (wing-keeled) boats are so much
faster that they are unbeatable. This year the British-owned
Miss U was the only real modern yacht in Hankø, so the outcome
of the series was almost decided before racing began. But Avia
Willment and her young crew on Miss U had to fi ght for it.
They got a scare on day one, as they came up against
experienced crews on Sira Class yachts Pandora, Wanda,
Bangalore, If, Luna and Sira, which fought for every inch of the
course. Miss U scored a third, a fi rst and then a second place. In
the end, as the Miss U crew got into the groove and as winds
picked up, they delivered six fi rst places in a row.
In the Sira and Neptune classes, the winners emerged only in
the fi nal moments of the regatta. Racing was very close, with fi ve
or six yachts often crossing the fi nish line within seconds of each
other. The Eights sail an ‘up and down’ – fi rst a leg to windward,
then dead downwind and twice around, so the fi nish is under
spinnaker. In Hankø it was a daily occurrence to see two boats
surfi ng neck-and-neck to the fi nish, both about to cheer their
success, when a third or even fourth boat would suddenly catch a
wave and surge past them to victory. It made for an exciting
week as the lead overall changed almost each race.
The fi nal day saw challenging conditions and 14 yachts opted
to remain in port. So races 9 and 10 turned into real cli hangers.
The suspense turned to drama when in the fi nal race both Silja
from Finland and King Harald’s Sira lost their masts, luckily both
without any injuries to their crews. The Sira class winner was the
Austrian Pandora. The First Rule Cup went to the photogenic,
schooner-rigged Elfe II, owned by German Andi Lochbrunner. The
Neptune Trophy went to Carron II from Switzerland.
If there had been a prize for the boat that came the furthest to
participate, it would have gone to Anker-designed Varg.
Australian owner Kraig Carlstrom transported the boat all the
way from Tasmania after a major seven-year rebuild/restoration.
Aside from Miss U, the British contingent was made up of
Helen (Mylne, 1936), skippered by 30-year-old Lara Crisp, Athena
(Tore Holm, 1939) and Saskia (Fife, 1930).CLASSIC BOAT NOVEMBER 2017 178-Metre Worlds in Norway
7 96 Presentation to the King of Norway on his 80th birthday
7 Avia Willment and the Miss U team with the Coppa d’Italia
8 Team Wanda, third overall
9 Queen Sonja of Norway handing the Neptune Trophy to Carron II(^68)
Wild ride
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