The 5.5 Metre class is famous for going to nice venues, but no one was really prepared for how nice the first day of the 2022 Swiss Open turned out. Aspire (POL 17, Mateusz Kusznierewicz, Przemysław Gacek, Edward Wright) took three race wins to lead overnight with Caracole (SUI 214, Bernard Haissly, Nicolas Berthoud, Daniel Stampfli) winning the third race to sit in second on equal points with Ali Baba (BAH 23, Flavio Marazzi, Max Salminen, Gregoire Siegwart).
Last week, Jean Genie (GBR 42, Elliot Hanson, Andrew Palfrey, Sam Haines) won the 5.5 Metre World Championship in Hankø, Norway. The previous week they had won the Scandianvian Gold Cup on the same waters. Jean Genie has become the first British boat in history to win either of these major events and the first boat that was not a Sebastien Schmidt designed and Wilke built boat to win the world championship since 1998
Peter Morton’s Jean Genie is a Dave Hollom designed 5.5 Metre that was built in Cowes, UK. Though Morton put in two and a half years of development into the project, which also included a second boat, Girls on Film, GBR 41, he was unfortunately unable to sail in Hankø, but sent the boat anyway with Elliot Hanson taking over as helm and Sam Haines moving from coach to the bow. Andrew ‘Dog’ Palfrey was the middleman and has been involved in the project since it started.
Peter Morton explained, “After the 2018 5.5 Metre Worlds in Cowes I was persuaded by Pete Vlasov to get into the class. The 5.5 Metre was conceived in Great Britain but there were no British boats currently on the circuit. I bought a 2003 Wilke boat and got some reasonable results with it. I’m very patriotic and wanted to do something in the UK, but was told by the then Class Chief Measurer that the current Swiss designed and built boats were the ultimate 5.5 and couldn’t be improved.
“I’ve always been slightly irritated when told things like that and set out to prove him wrong. I’d seen the proposals that David Hollom had done and remember his 12 Metre Crusader (the Hippo) from my days sailing with Graham Walker. Eddie Warden Owen reminded me it was the best balanced 12 Metre he had ever steered so I took the decision to ‘have a go’. I asked my friend Steve Quigley (who designs most of the hi-speed ferries we build and is a major part of the Wild Oats optimisation programme) to help with some CFD studies on the different designs and Tom Schnackenberg with whom I’ve been friends with since 1980 to run the VPPs. Steve also designed a boat that we could fit under the deck, using the keel, rudder and rig of the old SUI 222 which Hannes Waimer had in Dubai. With the boatbuilders in Cowes fairly quiet through Covid I decided to build both boats.”
GBR 41 was built at David Heritage and GBR 42 at Composite Craft.
“All this was done under the fantastic direction of Andrew Palfrey (aka Dog) and the team also included a very talented team at North Sails with major input from Sam Haines.
Highlights from 2022 5.5 Metre World Championship Day 5
"The boats performed exactly as the VPPs predicted. We won the 2021 Alpen Cup in 41 pretty comfortably and when we tested 41 against 42 in Cowes it was pleasing to confirm that over 10 knots 42 did have an edge. During those tests I had the benefit of having three of the world’s greatest small keelboat helms, Laurie Smith, Andy Beadsworth and Graham Bailey steer both boats confirming what Tom and David had predicted.
“This is a team effort and hopefully will encourage others to have a go and design and build some new 5.5s.
“They are amazing boats to sail and develop, which for me is half the fun. I’m absolutely not a fan of sailing 50-year-old One Designs because they are supposed to be One Designs yet a new boat is required every couple of years. To me it’s like buying a brand new 1980s Ford Cortina.
“What’s amazing about the 5.5 is that basically 42 is the same rules that the old wooden planked long keel boats were in the 1950s.
“Many thanks to all the people who have made this happen, but main thanks go to the former Chief Measurer for telling me it was impossible.”
The 5.5 Metre class is in a very healthy position right now with interest growing and a number of fantastic venues in the coming years with the world championship scheduled to take place in Porto Cervo, Sardinia in 2023 and New York Yacht Club in 2024.
Palfrey encapsulated the class when he said, “It’s so cool to race in this fleet against the family of 5.5 sailors…” The 5.5 Metre is a cool class to sail, with cool sailors and cool venues.
Next up the fleet will gather in Brunnen, on Lake Lucern in Switzerland, for the Swiss Open in August before heading to Cannes, France for the French Open at the Regates Royales.
A reminder of the final results from Hankø 1 Jean Genie (GBR 42, Elliot Hanson, Andrew Palfrey, Sam Haines) 11 2 New Moon II (BAH 24, Mark Holowesko, Christoph Burger, Anthony Nossiter) 13 3 Artemis (NOR 57, Kristian Nergaard, Johan Barne, Trond Solli Sæther) 17 4 Ku-Ring-Gai 3 (AUS 66, John Bacon, Terry Wetton, James Mayjor) 27 5 Ali-Baba (BAH 23, Craig Symonette, Flavio Marazzi, William Alloway) 33
Peter Morton’s Jean Genie (GBR 42, Elliot Hanson, Andrew Palfrey, Sam Haines), designed by David Hollom, and built in Cowes, UK, has won the 5.5 Metre World Championship in Hankø, Norway, on Tuesday, after winning both races on the final day. In the last ten days they have rewritten history by winning both the Scandinavian Gold Cup and the World Championship, becoming the first British boat to win either event.
New Moon II (BAH 24, Mark Holowesko, Christoph Burger, Anthony Nossiter) had led all week, only once outside the top three, but could only watch as Jean Genie sailed away from the fleet in both the final races. Defending champion Artemis (NOR 57, Kristian Nergaard, Johan Barne, Trond Solli Sæther) ended third.
Race 6 was sailed in 12-15 knots with Otto (NOR 68, Bent Christian Wilhelmsen, Lasse Berthelsen, Herve Cunningham) playing the shifts better than anyone to round ahead of Jean Genie. They rounded the gate together but then the British sailed away up the beat and extended downwind to win from Otto and Ku-Ring-Gai 3 (AUS 66, John Bacon, Terry Wetton, James Mayjor).
In a slightly increased breeze, Jean Genie started Race 7 mid-line and covered New Moon II on the first tack and then never looked back. Rounding with a 200 metre lead they shot off downwind to build a two-minute lead on the chasing pack. There was a lot of air between the British boat and the fleet but the pushed all the way for the biggest win of the week. Ku-Ring-Gai 3 sailed another amazing race to cross second, which moved her up to fourth overall, while New Moon II crossed third to take second overall.
Elliot Hanson was planning on doing bow, but was then called upon to helm the new boat once Peter Morton was unable to attend.
“For me my journey is a little bit different. I came in quite late on bow, and was then on the helm, so my overwhelming feeling now is relief. We had a stinking day 1, which made our lives hard from there on, and the pressure was on from there to come away with a victory. We didn’t really have any slips lefts in us after day 1 and we kind of haven’t made any. It’s great to sail with these guys, a real pleasure to have some experienced shoulders out on the rail. The boat was seamless in those conditions, going quickly and nothing really went wrong. As soon as that happens it’s easy for me to stick it in the right place to make gains on the race track”
Was he surprised at the speed in the last race?
“No is the honest answer. We had those conditions in the Gold Cup. What was really nice was that the crew only came together a day or two before we got to Norway, but we clicked instantly and that always makes your life a lot easier. Comms were good, no hot-headedness and when the pressure came on it felt like we improved performance rather than wilted away which is really strength as a team. And it’s no secret that the boat is performing very, very well relative to the rest of the fleet when the breeze is up.
“Not sure what happens next I’ve really enjoyed my time with the class and hope I’ll be back.”
Palfrey summed up. “It’s so cool to race in this fleet against the family of 5.5 sailors and we were pushed really, really hard all week by the New Moon and Artemis guys so to finally overcome that is very satisfying so well done to them as well., and just to echo Elliot, to sail with Elliot and Sam and finish this off has just been awesome. It’s very rare you find an environment on a race boat like that, so it was super cool.”
It's been an amazing 10 days in Hankø at the iconic and welcoming Hankø Yacht Club, and the fleet have enjoyed the sailing as much as the extensive social activities, which is a key part of the 5.5 Metre Class. This event also marks the return of the Australian sailors who had not seen their boats for two and a half years.
This year marks the first time a newly designed 5.5 Metre has won a major championship in many decades and time will tell whether this sparks new interest in the world’s best designers to look again at the 5.5 Metre rule to coke up with something better.
A video on the final day and further comment will follow soon.
Final results after 7 races 1 Jean Genie (GBR 42, Elliot Hanson, Andrew Palfrey, Sam Haines) 11 2 New Moon II (BAH 24, Mark Holowesko, Christoph Burger, Anthony Nossiter) 13 3 Artemis (NOR 57, Kristian Nergaard, Johan Barne, Trond Solli Sæther) 17 4 Ku-Ring-Gai 3 (AUS 66, John Bacon, Terry Wetton, James Mayjor) 27 5 Ali-Baba (BAH 23, Craig Symonette, Flavio Marazzi, William Alloway) 33
Just one race was sailed on the fourth day of the 2022 5.5 Metre World Championship at Hankø Yacht Club in Norway. The win went to Jean Genie (GBR 42, Elliot Hanson, Andrew Palfrey, Sam Haines) who put on a dominate display in the tough conditions. New Moon II (BAH 24, Mark Holowesko, Christoph Burger, Anthony Nossiter) still leads overall from Artemis (NOR 57, Kristian Nergaard, Johan Barne, Trond Solli Sæther) and Jean Genie. Two races remain.
Race 5 was moved earlier in the day as the forecast was for a building wind and it did just that. The conditions tested the entire fleet but Jean Genie started well and was ahead at the first cross and never looked back, leading all the way and extending upwind and downwind for a massive win. Artemis rounded the first mark in fifth but was soon up to second and held that to the finish from New Moon II.
By the finish the wind had increased to the point where the race committee considered it prudent to send the fleet back to the safety of the harbour.
Highlights from 2022 5.5 Metre World Championship Day 4
Andrew Palfrey, from Jean Genie, put his take on the day.
“I guess today played out pretty much as per the forecast with the building breeze. We were surprised how shifty it was but we had a nice start just down from the group with massive gap to leeward. We just chipped away and we ended almost all the way in the left and we think New Moon had gone the right way and made a gain on us. But we focussed on winning our side and then from there the guys did a fantastic job. Elliot is driving the boat really well, like he’s been in the class for years and Sam is super solid at the front. The boat handling was quite crisp, so from where we were at the leeward mark it was a matter of getting the boat round the track safely.
“For us once we’d done the hard stuff it was aa matter of delivering to the finish line and being ready for what came next, which unfortunately was AP over A because of the high winds. It felt more on the downwinds largely because of the sea sate. You could easily downspeed in a trough and then the boat really loads up, so that made it tough.”
On the performance of the new boat. “Certainly we’ve got nice speed. We’ve got good enough speed that if we put the boat in a good place we can generally chip away and win the one on one speed battles in that stuff. And it appears we have legs downwind, which largely is the teamwork on the boat, but the boat feels easy to release downwind and get off down the waves. We touched 15 knots a few times today.
Thinking about the final day. “We had a bad first day, bad first race certainly, so we just need to focus on ourselves and get nice starts and put the boat in good position and the rest will sort itself out I’m sure.”
Marc Ryan is on one of the four Australian boats in Hankø, sailing Manly with his father Colin Ryan.
“Hankø is one our favourite spots to be. We bought the boat a few years ago to campaign and this is the first venue for us. We are really enjoying it and learning a lot, though I think my arms are two inches longer after today. The boat has been sitting in Europe for two and half years so this is the first time we have actually sailed the boat.
“I’m being coming here for 35 years. I am a member here and so if my father, Colin. It’s about community and friendship and the social side to sailing. For us as a family it’s probably the most enjoyable place to actually sail. Colin came here first in 1986, and did the worlds in 1987, and I came a few more years and we just love coming back.”
On the future, “We bought the boat together and Colin is doing some regattas, and I will get my team together and hopefully do Sardinia and New York afterwards. If we can do two regattas a year, coming from Australia it’s take a lot of time to race. Definitely there’s campaigns and years sailing ahead.”
Arunga XII It’s been a long time since a Tolhurst helmed a 5.5 Metre World Championship but the name is synonymous with the class.
Mark Tolhurst said, “It’s just fantastic being back in Hankø and competing. My father Frank and I came here a lot in the 1970s and I always had the dream of coming back with my son Adam, and fortunakly we talked him into making the trip. Both of us have been out of competitive sailing for a while, but we have a good guy with us, Stephen Mcconaghy, from Austalia, and just been having a lot of fun.
“We figure if we can get into the top ten in any one of these races against these professional sailors we are doing extremely well.
“With the Fives, I came over here in the 1970s with my father. In 1976 we won the King Olav Cup, the Scandinavian Gold Cup and the World Championship. Frank built several Fives. The one he had at the time was Arunga and I’ve come back with Arunga XII. He filled in all the other ones from I to XI and won several world championships in them and was very strong in the class in those days.
“I’m passionate about the 5.5 class and always have been. There are four Australia teams here and I bought this boat two years ago when in it was in Australia for the worlds. The intension is to campaign it and the four of us are looking to campaign on the international circuit. I am just hoping I can convince Adam to come back and do it with me as that’s what’s it all about.
“I am not really expecting to be on the podium, but I am expecting to coming here and have a lot of fun, and enjoy the company and some really nice people. And the venues the Fives choose are just amazing places to go to.”
The 2022 5.5 Metre World Championship is going down to the wire. With the discard coming in after the sixth race, there is still everything to play for. The top three boats are all close with a discard and with a similar forecast for Tuesday, the first race of the day could be very important.
New Moon has barely put a foot wrong all week, with top three places in all races. Defending champion Artemis, has also had a great week. Jean Genie had a tough first day but has dominated since the stronger wind arrived and is getting faster. Once of these three is likely to take the title.
Again the schedule for the final day, Tuesday, has been brought forward to 10.00 to try and get two races in before strong winds arrive.
Results after 5 races (discard after 6) 1 New Moon II (BAH 24, Mark Holowesko, Christoph Burger, Anthony Nossiter) 10 2 Artemis (NOR 57, Kristian Nergaard, Johan Barne, Trond Solli Sæther) 14 3 Jean Genie (GBR 42, Elliot Hanson, Andrew Palfrey, Sam Haines) 23 4 Caracole (SUI 214, Bernard Haissly, Nicolas Berthoud, Daniel Stampfli) 24 5 Ali-Baba (BAH 23, Craig Symonette, Flavio Marazzi, William Alloway) 30
New Moon II (BAH 24, Mark Holowesko, Christoph Burger, Anthony Nossiter) extended their lead on day 3 of the 2022 5.5 Metre World Championship at Hankø Yacht Club, Norway. Artemis (NOR 57, Kristian Nergaard, Johan Barne, Trond Solli Sæther) won the first race of the day to move up second overnight while, Jean Genie (GBR 42, Elliot Hanson, Andrew Palfrey, Sam Haines) won the second race to move up to third.
After the second day was lost to strong winds, it remained windy early in the day but was forecast to moderate through the day. It was definitely a day of two halves though, separated by a wet intermission.
Race 3 was started in a solid 15-18 knots and huge waves, which eased through the race. Jean Genie had legs out of the start on a big left shift and led all the way until the closing stages when Artemis closed up as the wind died and sailed through. New Moon II took third a very close third.
Then a huge storm cloud passed over, bringing unstable conditions and a few showers, as well as a two hour wait. Finally, the breeze returned from the west and quickly built to 17-20 knots and huge waves. The same three boats were close together at the top mark while Jean Genie and New Moon II broke away downwind. Jean Genie favoured the right on the second upwind and took the lead as the boats crossed near the top. Last week’s Scandinavian Gold Cup winner then led down to the finish for her first race win of the week. New Moon II took a very close second with Artemis in third.
Highlights from 2022 5.5 Metre World Championship Day 3
Nergaard said, “That first race was interesting with a big left shift, starting at the pin and tacking right out,. We did that with the English covering each other all the way to the top mark. They had good boat speed in that big breeze and then New Moon was about 200 metres behind. On the second beat New Moon had good boatspeed and picked up on both of us.
“When the wind then died to about 4 metres, the English boat started to have speed problems and we got up to them, but they rounded the top mark first and then it was just playing some shifts downwind and finding where the pressure was, and we managed to get past them. That was very close, so we were happy with that
“The shower the just delayed everything but that second race was typical Hankø weather. But at least we got in two races today and looking forward to tomorrow.”
John Bacon, from Ku-Ring-Gai 3, came off the water with two fifth places, but later one was scored OCS.
“It was a long day and we had a long wait between races. The first race was pretty moderate and we had good a good start and held our place and were pretty happy with fifth. Then we hung around couple of hours waiting for the wind and it finally settled in. Actually we had a bit of a gust come through at the start and then it settled down and again we got ourselves aligned pretty well to hold fifth.
“This is our first regatta in this modern boat and for us to be up there with all the good guys is absolutely fantastic.”
Racing on Monday has been brought forward to 10.00 with strong winds again forecast for the afternoon. Racing continues through to Tuesday 5 July.
Results after 4 races 1 New Moon II (BAH 24, Mark Holowesko, Christoph Burger, Anthony Nossiter) 7 2 Artemis (NOR 57, Kristian Nergaard, Johan Barne, Trond Solli Sæther) 12 3 Jean Genie (GBR 42, Elliot Hanson, Andrew Palfrey, Sam Haines) 22 4 Ali-Baba (BAH 23, Craig Symonette, Flavio Marazzi, William Alloway) 22 5 Caracole (SUI 214, Bernard Haissly, Nicolas Berthoud, Daniel Stampfli) 24