8 Metre

Finnish 8mR-yacht Sagitta FIN-2. Design: Charles Nicholson 1929. Owner: Timo Saalasti

International Eight Metre Class are class of racing yachts. Eight Metre boats (often called "Eights" or 8mR) are a construction class, meaning that the boats are not identical but are all designed to meet specific measurement formula, in this case International Rule. Before WW II Eights were the most prestigious international yacht racing class, and they are still actively raced around the world. "Eight metre" in class name does not, somewhat confusingly, refer to length of the boat, but product of the formula. 8mR boats are on average some 15 metres long. Between 1907 and 2008 approximately 500 8mR boats were built, 177 of them have survived until today.

History

The Swedish silver medalist Sans Atout at 1912 Summer Olympics.

The International Rule was set up in 1907 to replace earlier, simpler handicap system which were often local or at best, national, and often also fairly simple, producing extreme boats which were fast but lightly constructed and impractical. The Eight Metre class was the medium size rating established under the rule and they were chosen as an Olympic class in 1908 Summer Olympics. The Eights remained in the Olympics until 1936.

New, modern eights are still built utilising newest contemporary technologies, at the rate of 1-3 boats per year. During 1980s, many old sailboat classes experienced a revival of interest. The Class has undergone a renaissance which has continued to the day, with many old yachts restored or rebuilt to racing condition, and 8mr competition is once again thriving with 25-35 boats participating annually at the 8mR Worlds. "The International Eight Register" includes 177 identified existing boats of a total of approximately 500 boats built from 1907 until today.

The 8 Metre is one of the potential Vintage Yachting Classes for the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games.

Olympic results

Year	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1908 details	Great Britain (GBR) Cobweb Blair Cochrane Arthur Wood Henry Sutton John Rhodes Charles Campbell	Sweden (SWE) Vinga Carl Hellström Edmund Thormählen Erik Wallerius Eric Sandberg Harald Wallin	Great Britain (GBR) Sorais Philip Hunloke Alfred Hughes Frederick Hughes George Ratsey William Ward
1912 details	Norway (NOR) Taifun Thomas Aas Andreas Brecke Torleiv Corneliussen Thoralf Glad Christian Jebe	Sweden (SWE) Sans Atout Emil Henriques Bengt Heyman Alvar Thiel Herbert Westermark Nils Westermark	Finland (FIN) Lucky Girl Arthur Ahnger Erik Lindh Bertil Tallberg Gunnar Tallberg Georg Westling
1920 (1907 rating) details	Norway (NOR) Irene Carl Ringvold Thorleif Holbye Tellef Wagle Kristoffer Olsen Alf Jacobsen	none	none
1920 (1919 rating) details	Norway (NOR) Sildra Magnus Konow Reidar Marthiniussen Ragnar Vik Thorleif Christoffersen	Norway (NOR) Lyn Jens Salvesen Lauritz Schmidt Finn Schiander Nils Thomas Ralph Tschudi	Belgium (BEL) Antwerpia V Albert Grisar Willy de l'Arbre Léopold Standaert Henri Weewauters Georges Hellebuyck
1924 details	Norway (NOR) Bera Rick Bockelie Harald Hagen Ingar Nielsen Carl Ringvold Carl Ringvold, Jr.	Great Britain (GBR) Emily Edwin Jacob Thomas Riggs Walter Riggs Ernest Roney Harold Fowler[1]	France (FRA) Namoussa Louis Breguet Pierre Gauthier Robert Girardet André Guerrier Georges Mollard
1928 details	France (FRA) l'Aile VI Donatien Bouché Carl de la Sablière André Derrien Virginie Hériot André Lesauvage Jean Lesieur	Netherlands (NED) Hollandia Gerard de Vries Lentsch Maarten de Wit Lambertus Doedes Hendrik Kersken Johannes van Hoolwerff Cornelis van Staveren	Sweden (SWE) Sylvia Clarence Hammar Tore Holm Carl Sandblom John Sandblom Philip Sandblom Wilhelm Törsleff
1932 details	United States (USA) Angelita John Biby William Cooper Carl Dorsey Owen Churchill Robert Sutton Pierpont Davis Alan Morgan Alphonse Burnand Thomas Webster John Huettner Richard Moore Kenneth Carey	Canada (CAN) Santa Maria Ernest Cribb Harry Jones Peter Gordon Hubert Wallace Ronald Maitland George Gyles	none
1936 details	Italy (ITA) Italia Giovanni Reggio Bruno Bianchi Luigi De Manincor Domenico Mordini Luigi Poggi Enrico Poggi<	Norway (NOR) Silja Olaf Ditlev-Simonsen Hans Struksnæs Lauritz Schmidt Nordahl Wallem Jacob Tullin Thams John Ditlev-Simonsen	Germany (GER) Germania III Hans Howaldt Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Felix Scheder-Bieschin Eduard Mohr Otto Wachs Fritz Bischoff

World Championships

After a long break, the Worlds have been organized for the eight metres in four classes:

1. The World Cup.^[2]
2. The Sira Cup - All Classic eights built prior to 1968^[3]
3. The Neptune Trophy - All Classics with original deck plan build prior to 1970, wooden spars and Dacron sails^[4]
4. Vintage eights - Gaffs build before 1920.

References

• The International Rule - The Eight Metre Class - John Lammerts van Bueren, 2007

1. ^ This sailor is missing from the IOC medal database but appear in databaseOlympics.com and also by Wudarski, Kamper, and Mallon.
2. ^ http://www.8mr.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=118&Itemid=107
3. ^ http://www.8mr.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=117&Itemid=116
4. ^ http://www.8mr.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=115

External links

• International Eight Metre Association
• Metre Boat Index
• North American Eight Metre Association
• British Eight Metre Association
• Swedish Eight Metre Association (Swedish)
• Finnish Eight Metre Association (Finnish)
• Russian Eight Metre Association (Russian)

v t e Sailing at the Summer Olympics 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 List of medalists List of venues