For those who may not know, this is one of the most significant events related to Newport’s heritage as an epicenter for world-class sailboat racing. The America’s Cup, one of the most famous competitions between countries, was held here in Newport 12 times from 1930 to 1983, and for nine of those times, from 1958 to 1983, the sailboat used to determine the winners was the 12 Metre, a single-masted sloop of approximately 68 feet (21 metres) in length Challenge XII and Columbia Become Two-Time World Champions
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND, USA (August 6, 2023) – After participating in a morning parade around Newport Harbor that was punctuated by cannon salutes from yacht clubs and other prime waterfront viewing spots, ten historic 12 Metres moved on to Rhode Island Sound for Saturday’s final race of the 12 Metre World Championship. To be named the World Champions at the end of the day, Jack LeFort’s (Winter Park, Fla./Jamestown, R.I.) Challenge XII (KA-10) had merely to finish better than fifth among Modern Division’s five entries if Takashi Okura’s Japanese entry Freedom (US-30), close behind in the standings, were to win. The day prior, Kevin Hegarty/Anthony Chiurco’s (Newport, R.I./Princeton, N.J.) Columbia (US-16) already had mathematically sewn up the nine-race series in the five-boat Traditional/Vintage Division.
After waiting for two hours, a windward/leeward course was set (later shortened) for a seven-knot breeze, and Challenge XIIhandily sailed to victory while Freedom finished fifth to maintain its Modern Division podium position of second place. Columbia finished third, while the fleet’s oldest boat, Mark Watson’s (Newport, R.I.) Onawa (US-6),built in 1928, sailed its way to a clean victory and a claim on second place overall for the Traditional/Vintage Division.
Both the Challenge XII and Columbia teams, homegrown with mostly local crews, won the Worlds in 2019 when it last was held in Newport. “Conditions were light, heavy, medium…we went up the (Narragansett) Bay, out on the ocean – it was just a great across-the-board test for the fleet,” said LeFort, whose veteran team includes his wife Lisa as navigator and America’s Cup/Volvo Ocean Race veteran Ken Read as tactician. “The good news is that Sunday’s conditions – light air and lumpy seas – were good for us.”
Racing started Tuesday (August 1) with one race in light 8-9 knot breezes that gave Challenge XII (in Modern Division) and Robert Morton’s (Middletown, R.I.) American Eagle (US-21) (in Traditional/Vintage Division) an early boost for winning. Both teams, however, fell to second behind Freedom and Onawa, respectively, after two races on Wednesday, held again in light 5-8 knot air. For Thursday and Friday, 18-20 knot winds proved also to be good for Challenge XII, as the team won three of five races held in Modern Division while Columbia won all five held in Traditional/Vintage Division.
It’s not about being the fastest boat,” said Columbia’s Hegarty, who helmed at the starts and then became tactician while Chiurco drove. “Whomever performs the best, or messes up the least, is going to win. That’s why I love sailing 12 Meters; everything is manual, and it takes muscle and teamwork. There is no other class like it.”
Hegerty said it hit him in the middle of the night on Friday that he and his team – which like Challenge XII’s has been sailing together for over a decade – were now two-time 12 Metre World champions. “I woke up and just had a big smile on my face.” The smiles (and cheers) spilled over into Saturday night’s Awards Party, held at the IYRS School of Technology and Trades, which served as headquarters for the six-day event. Kudos especially were given to PRO Mark Foster and his Ida Lewis Yacht Club Race Committee team for their extraordinary acumen and patience.
“Conditions were all over the place and the Race Committee adjusted to them and so did the teams,” said Ida Lewis representative Guy Sanchez.
Other Modern Division teams competing were Peter Askew’s (Key Largo, Fla.) Enterprise (US-27), Andrew Rose’s (Newport Beach, Calif.) Defender (US-33), and Dawn Riley’s Oakcliff trainees (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) sailing Courageous (US-26).
Other Traditional/Vintage Division teams competing were Jack Klinck’s (Concord, Mass.) Nefertiti (US-19) and Steve Eddleston’s (Bristol, R.I.) Weatherly (US-17).
The Ted Turner Trophy for most significant contribution to the 12 Metre Class went to Steve Eddleston, Commodore of the 12 Metre Yacht Club Newport Station, who subsequently presented the Tiedemann Trophy for best Vintage yacht to Onawa.
The Worlds fleet included four boats that successfully defended the America’s Cup when it was sailed in Newport in 12 Metres from 1958 to 1983: Columbia – 1958, Weatherly -1962, Courageous – 1974/1977 and Freedom – 1980.
Peggy Hersam, 12 Metre Yacht Club Executive Director +1 (203) 807-1066. Notice of Race and other race information available at www.12mrworlds.com.
12 Metre Pre-Worlds Congratulations to Enterprise, sailed by Peter Askew (Key Largo, Fla.) for winning the 12-Metre Pre-Worlds in the Modern Division. Columbia, with Kevin Hegarty (Newport, R.I.) and Anthony Chiurco (Princeton, N.J.) leading the charge, won the combined Traditional/Vintage class. The Pre-worlds were part of Sail Newport’s 2023 Newport Regatta, held July 8-9 in Newport. Seven of the 10 Twelves registered for the Worlds competed over four races.
12 Metre Parade At 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 5, fans can cheer on their favorite teams during the international Parade of 12 Metres. The Parade, led by Race Committee Signal Boat Casta Diva and dignitaries and VIPs aboard a special Palm Beach Motor Yacht, will consist of 12 historic 12 Metres (many of which sailed here during Newport’s America’s Cup days).
The 12 Metres will start east of Goat Island and parade clockwise around the harbor, past Newport Yacht Club, Bannister’s Wharf, Newport Yachting Center/Hammetts Hotel, IYRS, Ida Lewis Yacht Club, and New York Yacht Club where theywill be saluted by cannonbefore heading out for their final race of the series. Catch them from these locations and just about every wharf on the east side of Newport Harbor. Give them a hip hip hooray, and look for Newport’s Boys & Girls Club kids who will be riding on Heritage (US 23)and Intrepid (US 22). The latter Twelve is a two-time winner of the America’s Cup and one of the most famous yachts worldwide!
About ITMA The 112-year-old International 12 Metre Class encompasses a living history of racing yacht design by the world’s foremost naval architects including Olin Stephens, Clinton Crane, William Fife III, Philip Rhodes, Johan Anker, Ben Lexcen and more who pushed their designs to the very limits of innovations. The resulting boats represented the pinnacle of yacht development from 1907-1987 for the highest levels of international sailing competition: the Olympic Games (1908-1920) and the America’s Cup (1958-1987).
