Only a week remains until the start of one of the most anticipated yacht racing events of the year — the 2009 12 Metre World Championships. 

This is expected to be the largest gathering of the vintage yachts in the 26 years since Newport last hosted the America’s Cup in 1983. The event is scheduled for September 22 through 27, and the accompanying reunion of sailing personalities has drawn a great deal of interest.  This will be a homecoming for a number of sailing legends, many of whom rose to prominence while racing “twelves” on Narragansett Bay.

The 2009 Worlds are the centerpiece of the Golden Year of Racing, a year-long 50th anniversary celebration of the 12 Metre’s debut in the America’s Cup in 1958, which ultimately saw Columbia ~ US 16 defeat the British challenger Sceptre ~ K17. 

Five America’s Cup winning boats (including Columbia), a winning skipper, and several boats that were in the Defender competition for the Cup will race. International sailors, including the skipper and crew from France’s Challenge 12, and crews from Norway (racing on Gleam), Switzerland (racing Onawa) and the United Kingdom (racing on USA)  will up the ante in what should be a fierce competition.

In the Grand Prix Division, Kiwi Magic ~ KZ 7, will be skippered by 1992 America’s Cup winner Bill Koch (Osterville, Mass./Palm Beach, Fla.), while among the six Twelves sailing in the Modern Division are three (Courageous ~ US 26, Freedom ~ US 30 and Intrepid ~ US 22) who collectively won the Cup five times. 

Cup winners Columbia ~ US 16 and Weatherly ~ US 17 will sail in the five-boat Traditional Division and Onawa ~ US 6, the oldest yacht in the American fleet, will compete in the Vintage Division which will have three yachts racing. 

The 12 metre vessels will be docked at Bowen’s Wharf and Bannister’s Warf in historic downtown Newport.

Of particular interest to sailing afficionados will be the 12 Metre Legends Forums, held after racing in the 12 Metre Worlds Village at Bowen’s Wharf September 23, 24 and 25. 

Moderators Tom Whidden (Essex, Conn.) and regatta co-chairs Gary Jobson (Annapolis, Md.) and Jan Slee (Newport, R.I.) will interview the slate of 30-plus participants who are skippers, tacticians, crew and yacht designers. They include Gianfranco Alberini (Italy), Richard du Moulin (Larchmont, N.Y.),  Halsey Herreshoff (Bristol, R.I.), Ted Hood (Portsmouth, R.I.) , Luigi Lang (Italy), Andy MacGowan (Middletown, R.I.), Lowell North (San Diego, Calif.), Charles Dana, Bill Langan, David Pedrick and David Ray (all Newport, R.I.),  Jack Sutphen (San Diego, Calif.) and Sam Wakeman (Cohasset, Mass.).  The North Sails Legends Forum Finale will take place before the awards presentation on Sunday, September 27, at New York Yacht Club’s Harbour Court.

Gary Jobson will narrate and produce a one-hour film for ESPN Classic on the history of the 12 Metres and the 2009 Worlds. Koch is the Executive Producer for the film, which will feature racing footage shot during the Worlds and interviews with the legends.  It is set to air Saturday, November 7, at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN Classic and will be available in the future on DVD.

Local spectator info

To obtain the daily race course location, visit Bannister’s Wharf or Bowen’s Wharf where the boats are docked, or listen to Channel 72 at 0900. Course “A” is off Brenton Point, for racing on Rhode Island Sound; “R” is Halfway Rock for racing in Narragansett Bay north of the Pell Newport Bridge. Daily warning signal is at 1100. The best viewing from land will be from the northern tip of Fort Adams as yachts leave the harbor, and from Castle Hill and Brenton’s Point on the days races are on “A” course. The Candy Store Cup will be announced on one race day with the New York Yacht Club Race Committee starting a third race combining all divisions in which the Twelves will race back into Newport Harbor to the finish line off Bannister’s Wharf. For information on schedules, spectator opportunities, and VIP access to post-race events, visit www.goldenyear2009.com