March 14, 2015
The crew is planning for June!
Just depending on where you are on Earth right now, the weekends can be snow covered or warm, yet, both sunny. The following images will take you from North to South, passing by some of the early 5.5m Class 2015 activities.
In Canada, John Lister has invited to his home, in order to plan for the second edition of the North American 5.5m Regatta, which will be held again at his Midland Bay Yacht Club, in mid June.
In Sweden, final preparations are underway for the World's in Nynäshamn. Sailors who had met 2 years ago and then proposed the idea, met again at the time of the "allt for sjön" boat show in Stockholm, also visiting two Swedish boats (SWE 64 + SWE 50) in their winter storage places and the Linjett boatyard. Quite a bit has happened since 2013, the Swedish fleet having grown by several boats, moving from Classic only to Classic & Evolution. Hopes for the first SWE Modern are not far fetched.
Cold wind and snow can't stop motivation.
SWE 64 getting a good inner finish for the World's
Modern, yet manufacture type quality Swedish boatbuilding: Linjett
Jan Gustavsson (SWE 50) could store all 400 worldwide existing 5.5m boats, this is only one of his many covered places
And this is the view out of his office window; come back in summer, you will be amazed
New nordic 5.5m
In Germany, the members of the National 5.5m Class Association have traditionally met for "Bosseln", a Nordic combination of "Boule & Walk", followed by a very nice meal near the Stör river, where 8 of the 67 GER 5.5m boats have their winter storage.
The crews out in the snow
In The Netherlands, the Dutch 5.5m Class Association is preparing for the HISWA boatshow in Amsterdam, where Classic NED 13 and Modern SUI 227 are on display. The AM 55 had been stored with those GER boats and picked up in time, last weekend.
AM 55 ready for Amsterdam
In Switzerland all racing emotions are heading downhill. Two meetings were planned, one in Gurnigel and one in Gstaad. All concentration on the skiing, hence no new picture, but one from past times will do.
Winter pleasures in Gstaad
And now, we move further South, to reach most pleasing temperatures, wind and sunshine. Sailing out of Vaucluse, several 5.5m regattas have been arranged in Sydney waters, the most important of them all being the Australian 5.5m Nationals. Below you can have a look at the boats, crews & prizes. An additional picture selection will also be published in the photo section of this site.