02.07.10

The love of Eights

KIEL, GERMANY. There must be something very special about sailing an Eight; special enough to inspire a family from Japan to have a new yacht built from old drawings in Portugal, and then travel to Europe once a year to take part in 8-Metre racing. Yutaka Kobayashi from Kobe has done exactly this. Now he is back in Europe and looking forward to be back on the race course to compete with his 8-Metre classmates in the Rolex Baltic Week off Kiel.

“The spirit among Eight sailors is just amazing,” says Kobayashi. “Sailing is ambitious, but not too fierce, so it’s perfect for bringing your family and friends along.” With his spouse Tokiko at the helm of the Aun, Yutaka himself acts as bowman, and their 15-year old daughter Asako is also part of the Euro Cup crew.

Aun is the youngest yacht in the fleet, having been built in 2005. But although she is three years younger than YQuem II, she is still a classic Eight. The reason for this is down to her construction plans. The yacht was designed as early as 1940 by Johan Anker, but she was not actually built until 8-Metre Secretary John Lammerts van Bueren discovered her plans in a museum, and managed to inspire Kobayashi to have her constructed true to the original plans. Five years ago, the plan came to fruition, and ever since, the Japanese crew have enjoyed sailing their unique Eight.

At the Rolex Baltic Week, Aun will race against a number of “real” classic boats, and even some yachts of the “First Rule” generation. Both built in 1912 and both brought north from Lake Constance, Sposa and Elfe II will duel for the rank of the best yacht built after the first formula. Both boats are from the Lindauer SC, and both Eights are equipped with a rarely found gaffed rig. “This kind of rig makes a lot more work, and is harder to trim, but it just looks much more beautiful,” explains Sposa’s owner Richard Gervé of his decision to stick to the historic rig. The wooden look of the mast, however, is an optical illusion. Since her thorough restoration in 1999, the veneer covers state-of-the-art carbon-fibre. Thus highly competitive in her category, Sposa became the 2007 First Rule Vice Word Champion.

Andi Lochbrunner’s Elfe II also got carbon-fibre masts, after the yacht lost her mainmast nine years ago. “The Eight formula holds no restrictions regarding the materials used, and so we decided to go this way. Now we are back in the game with less heeling,” says Lochbrunner. He did not want to do without his ketch’s very rare wishbone rig though. “In former times, Elfe used to have the typical cutter rig, but in 1935, her owner at the time had her equipped with the special wishbone rig. Her two-mast image has since been known all over Lake Constance, and we wanted to keep it like this. Besides, the rig makes boat handling a lot more comfortable,” reports Lochbrunner, who bought the yacht 25 years ago.

The crew of Svanevit see themselves as rookies on the race-course. Owner Karsten Niehaus from Cologne acquired the measurement certificate just six months ago, after extensive changes to make the yacht, which was originally built in 1939 for the Swedish Consul Walter Edström, compatible with the class rules. To maintain the original character on board the yacht, owner Niehaus even invited the first owner’s grandson, Christoph Edstroem, into his crew.

Now Svanevit sails almost like she did 70 years ago. She is not only at home on the racecourse, but also has bunk beds to travel from regatta to regatta under her own power. “This is what the Eights historically stand for,” says Niehaus with a respectful glance at the crew of the British yacht IF: her owner and boat-builder Peter Wilson also put this tradition into practice, and always sails the boat from one event to the next – in this case, from England to Kiel. So it really must be something very special to sail an Eight.