A star is born again ! 

After an extensive rebuild at Metur Yachts in Bodrum, Turkey, the famous 1927 Int. 8-Metre Hollandia is back in her element and ready to join the fleet! 

It is with deep sadness that we learned that on December 4th, 2011, our friend Werner Schifferl has passed away. For so many years Werner raced and cruised his Bera, the famous 1924 Olympic Gold medallist. With a crew of family and friends, he participated in any event that would somehow fit his always busy schedule. Werner sailed his boat and lead his team in true Corinthian spirit which served to many as example. Over the years he took many people on board and enthused them for sailing classic boats.  Taking every opportunity to put something back in the sport we all love, he served as Chairman of the Lake Constance 8-Metre Association.  He was such a fond supporter of the 8-Metre class. He will be much missed by us all.

Fred Meyer
President IEMA

Julia Ormio
Executive Secretary IEMA

John Lammerts van Bueren
Past IEMA Secretary

Centennial celebration of the 1912 Olympic Regatta in Sweden

In 1912 Stockholm hosted the Olympic Games while the town of Nynäshamn, about 60 kilometres due south was the chosen location for the Olympic sailing events. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of this the Föreningen Sveriges Klassiska Fritidsbåtar together with Nynäshamns Town Council and the Nynäshamns Sailing Club will be organising a nearly 3 week long classic boat extravaganza that will take the participating yachts on a tour of some of the prettiest sailing spots of the Swedish East Coast.

The event starts on July 9th with a tune-up race in Simrishamn. Following the Swedish coast with stops at Karlskrona, Kalmar and Västervik with racing or cruising in company during the day and parties and receptions every evening. Here on July 17 the fleet will split in a group that will cruise up the coast in a leasurely manner while the rest take part in the distance race from Visby to Nynäshamn. The 4 day Olympic Regatta then starts on July 20 with not only classic sailing yachts attending but also classic motor yachts, motor cars and aeroplanes! After this the yachts will race to Sandhamm in the Stockholm Archipelago to meet up with a number of events talking place there. (European Championship 6mR-Class, International Dragon and Finnjolle Championship and the Square Metre Cup for SK 22's and European Championship for Archipelago 30's)

A surprising number of yachts that took part in 1912 are still actually around and several have signed up for the regatta. Among them the 12 Metre Erna Signe coming from Norway and Kitty the winner of the Gold Medal in the 10 Metre Class from Finland. Marga, another 10 Metre that took part 100 years ago is undergoing a complete restoration in Italy where the owner hopes to have the job finished in time for the event. With over 40 yachts already registered from Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Germany and Holland this promises to be quite special event. For registration and more information: http://www.cbm2012.eu

[Official Site]

Come and race with us - for up to four weeks
The Sailing Olympics taking place 27 July to 11 August at Weymouth, on the South Coast of England, have triggered a significant number of sailing regattas in the Solent. The regattas include the Westward Cup, 12-Metre Worlds, Panerai British Classic Week, Oyster Regatta, Superyacht Cup and Cowes Metre and Classic Keelboat Week, as well of course as the annual Cowes Week regatta. Three, and possibly four, of these regattas are open to Eights.