From 17 to 23 June, Porquerolles Yacht Club will be the host venue for the 12mR World Championship, one of the most prestigious sailing events and a must for the class.

A real America's Cup atmosphere will reign over this unprecedented international event in the harbour in Hyères, on the Mediterranean coast in the south of France. Around 20 12mR boats are expected to take part, and more than 10 nations will be represented. A world championship title will be awarded at the end of the week’s racing.

The 12mR boats — the historic class of the world’s oldest sporting competition, the America's Cup, which they contested from 1958 to 1987 — have become the kings of the cup over the years, and Irish sailors have made a strong showing in previous world championships.

For their world championship in Porquerolles in 2024, they will be unfurling their superb sails in Hyères Harbour. For this high-level international competition, Porquerolles Yacht Club and its race committee will be setting up specially laid-out courses, which are very simple but highly technical, imposing strategic choices that represent the pinnacle of the art of regatta sailing.

“Porquerolles Yacht Club is very proud to have been chosen to organise this world championship,” said Aurélie Lhuillier, manager of Porquerolles Yacht Club. “Several months ago, an international delegation representing the 12mR boats set out to find a venue that could welcome these exceptional boats for an event that has never been held in Mediterranean waters. After a few visits to Porquerolles, they chose their location for this unprecedented meeting: Hyères and its golden islands!”

For the crew of Nyala, the world championship will be the highlight and the goal of the season.

“We're already training with the whole crew,” said Brazilian Torben Grael, five-time Olympic medallist and tactician aboard the Italian 12mR Nyala owned by Patrizio Bertelli, CEO of Prada. “It's great that it's in Porquerolles, as these waters are really technical and I'm sure we're going to have some great races.”

“In 2024, we're going to have a very good year for 12mR boats,” said Marc Pajot, helmsman aboard French Kiss. “In the Grand Prix category, in which I’m competing with French Kiss, we’re going to have a great battle with boats from 1987 like Kiwi Magic, White Crusader and Kookaburra. All the owners and crews are highly motivated, and the location of the Bay of Hyères and Porquerolles is much appreciated by everyone, so we can't wait to meet up again.”

“We’re lucky enough to have quite a few boats coming over from the United States,” said French America’s Cup legend Bruno Troublé. “In 2024, there are plenty of reasons to be in Europe, particularly with the America’s Cup. We’re going to have the biggest gathering of 12mR boats we've ever had in the wonderful setting of Porquerolles.”

The Notice of Race and registration are now available on the Porquerolles Yacht Club website.

After five days of close match racing, America II (US 42), owned by the New York Harbour Sailing Foundation, pulled out a win in the last race on Saturday the 13th of July to take the prize in their class at the 12 Metre World Championships held in Newport, Rhode Island.

In the winning crew were Ryan Fitzgerald (Wicklow Sailing Club), Herbie Fowler Hudson (Royal St. George Yacht Club), Caoilainn O’Regan, (Fastnet Marine Sailing Centre), Dan O’Neill (Royal Irish Yacht Club) and Cian O’Carroll (Howth Yacht Club).

The International 12 Metre Class 2019 World Championship was held in Newport, Rhode Island (USA) from July 8- 13 and was hosted by the Ida Lewis Yacht Club and the 12 Metre Yacht Club. It was the largest-ever gathering of 12 Metre yachts in the United States, featuring 21 boats from seven countries.

The 12 Metre Crew that included five Irish sailors

The series consisted of nine races on a short (1.6 mile) windward-leeward course. The overall fleet was divided into five classes and included seven America’s Cup defenders and challengers. Racing was on Rhode Island Sound, the site of nine America’s Cup competitions from 1958-1983.

The winner in the Spirit Class, the historic yacht America II, US 42 was originally commissioned by the New York Yacht Club for the 1987 edition of the America’s Cup and was sailed by John Koilus in the 1986 12 Metre Worlds and the 1987 Louis Vuitton Cup in Perth, Western Australia. She eventually lost out to Denis Connors in Stars and Stripes, who won the Cup for the San Diego Yacht Club.

The current owner of America II, The New York Harbor Sailing Foundation, is a non-profit organization dedicated to foster and promote amateur sailing of national and international importance in New York Harbor and to protect and preserve important pieces of American yachting history.