One Ton Cup Revival 2016 - Update

Just over 50 years, after the first One Ton Cup was sailed at le Havre, France in 1965 and just 20 years after the last One Ton Cup in Marseille 2004, the event is back in Europe. A group of enthusiastic One Ton owners decided to organise the event ONE TON CUP revival 2016 at Breskens, the Netherlands from 25 – 28 of August.

The event will be open for all types of One Tonners and their sisterships, like the Oyster 41, Oyster 37, Standfast 36, X-1Ton, X-402, J-41, Huisman 37, Contessa 35, Sprinter, Optimist A + B, Swan 36, Ranger 37, Tina, Norlin 37, First Class 12, Swan 37, High Tension 36, Baltic 37, Swan 371, etc.

Vincent de Vries' classic Carter-designed One Tonner, Esprit du Morbihan

At this moment over 20 One Tonners are pre-registered, including yachts from France, Belgium, United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands. There are even rumours that Chris Bouzaid will try to get Rainbow II over to Breskens! Rainbow II was the One Ton Cup winner in 1969 and the winner of the One Ton Revisited regatta in 2015, held in Auckland, New Zealand.

Rainbow II - a first generation One Tonner (27.5ft IOR) and winner of the One Ton Cup in 1969, and the One Ton Revisited regatta 2015

Over the years there have been three One Ton classes: 22 ft RORC; 27.5 ft IOR; and 30.5 ft. IOR. During the years yachts were more and more built dedicated for the One Ton Cup and evolved from cruisers to cruiser/racers to flat-out racers.

French One Tonner, Fiere Lady (30.5ft IOR) - fifth in the 1985 One Ton Cup

The One Ton Cup revival 2016, will be sailed under IRC rules and IRC rating system, in the three above mentioned classes. The yachts will sail in one division, the results will be separated over the classes, per day. The best One Tonner over the event will be honoured with an overall prize. There will be a mix of races: from short windward-leewards to 30 nautical mile round the buoys courses. All races will be on the beautiful Westerschelde estuary.

The ONE TON CUP revival 2016 is a part of the Breskens Sailing Weekend 2016, the Dutch Open IRC Championships. In a few weeks’ time the website www.breskenssailing.org and www.onetoncuprevival.org will be launched to fully inform you and to welcome your registration. In the meantime please contact Vincent de Vries at info@onetoncuprevival.org.

Quarter Ton Cup 1989

The 1989 Quarter Ton Cup was held in Falmouth, and ended in a close tussle between two rival Italian crews, with Pompero Busnello taking the honours in his two-year old Massimo Paperini-designed Meridian, which had finished fourth in 1988. Meridian won the opening and closing Olympic races, seeing off a strong challenge from B & BV, a 1979-vintage Alain Jezequel design which had also come close to winning the 1988 series until she lost her rudder, finishing second. Meridian was well sailed, and was fast in the smooth water and medium breezes that prevailed.

Meridian - winner of the 1989 Quarter Ton Cup (photo Seahorse)

B & BV won the 120-mile offshore race, after neatly side-stepping the calms that trapped most others, but slipped to seventh in the second offshore race which let Meridian back into the reckoning for the last race, which she won.  Although old, B & BV had benefited from rule-grandfathering that allowed her to carry a lot more sail area than with which it had been originally designed. She did not enjoy light conditions however.

The 1981-vintage B & BV remained in the running for the title until the last race (photo Seahorse)

Saniflo (photo Seahorse)

Third placed Saniflo was a particularly interesting boat, but having only been launched just in time for measurement before the series she lacked the preparation time that would have given her a winning chance. The Jacques Fauroux-design, with its huge mainsail and tiny foretriangle, proved particularly fast downwind, but she also had sufficient upwind speed to beat Meridian in a 20-minute tacking duel during the 110 miler. Saniflo's rig was clearly influenced by Fauroux's experience in the Star class, with a rig supported by upper and lower checkstays, but no standing backstay. Although fast downwind, her spinnakers were very unstable due to their high aspect ratio, and this appeared to be something that would require further work if the rig concept was to be pursued further.

Meridian sails upwind in flat seas and moderate breeze, conditions that were her forte (photo 1/4 ton zeilers Facebook page)

Fourth placed Scandinavian Seaways was affected by a late building programme, and a boat that was 10cm too long, which required urgent modifications that affected her displacement and sail area. She took two wins in the inshore races in good breeze, but did not seem to show all-round speed. This Tony Castro design failed to match the progress of the Italian teams in light airs.

The fifth placed Canard (Italy) (photo 1/4 ton zeilers Facebook page)

The top English yacht, the Humphreys-designed Quest Original Knitwear, had more sail area than in her earlier 1987 guise (when she finished second) due to a favourable remeasurement. She appeared to be a good all-rounder, but lacked practice time for the 1989 series. A poor result in the short offishore race saw her finish in seventh place.

The Humphreys-designed Quest Original Knitwear (photo Seahorse)

The result of the Australian team was disappointing. They had arrived in Falmouth three weeks before the regatta, determined to win with good crews and big budgets, and to redress an 11th place by Imazulutu in 1988 at Kiel. But their two boats, Imazulutu and Imazulu, designed by Kell Steinman, were out of touch, slow and old fashioned looking in comparison to the European designs that clearly benefited from better competition. 

Australian entry Imazulutu (photo Histoiredeshalfs website)

Footnote: remarkably, B & BV went on to win the 1994 Quarter Ton Cup, contested by 19 boats in Warnemunde.

CGI (Andrieu One Tonner)

This article features two French One Tonners from the 1987 and 1989 period, designed by Daniel Andrieu and sponsored by French company CGI (Credit General Industriel). Both were built by Jeanneau Advanced Techniques. 

The first CGI (F-9213) was a development of Cifraline, featuring the signature trademark of the Andrieu IOR yachts of the period, with characteristic oval cabin windows and a gently curved sheerline that merged to an elegantly rounded transom. 

While showing promise in the early stages of the 1987 season, in light airs, she missed selection for the French Admiral's Cup team for 1987 (finishing fifth in the French trials, of 11 yachts) and was chartered by the Belgian team for the 1987 Admiral's Cup. CGI 87 finished as the best placed of that team, at 30th overall (26/24/36/32/21), but the rest of the team (Val Maubuee and Port du Crouesty) were lacklustre, and the team was well off the pace, finishing last.

The second CGI (F-8907) was less recognisable as an Andrieu yacht, with a straighter transom design that responded to the IOR rule changes to the measurement of the after girth station for the 1989 season, and with a windowless cabin top. 

CGI 89 started with a fourth in Spi Ouest France, but was a lowly 20th in the 1989 One Ton Cup held in Naples. She was selected for the French Admiral's Cup team for the 1989 Admiral's Cup, and contributed to the team's fourth place of the team (alongside Corum 89 and Xeryus de Givenchy), finishing 17th yacht overall (23/7/42/26/25/11). Her result was bolstered by strong showings in the offshore events (the Channel Race and Fastnet Race), but with average placings inshore, and a disastrous last place in the second inshore race (following a penalty). 

CGI approaching Lymington Marina during the 1989 Admiral's Cup (photo Shockwave40 blog)

CGI 89 became Argonaut and competed in the 1990 One Ton Cup in Marstrand, Sweden. 

CGI 89 now known as CGI Antheor, as seen recently (Facebook)