Selma’s designer Johan Anker, known as “the master of lines”, first brought his friend King Olav of Norway along as part of his crew on his six-metre racing yacht Norna and dramatically won the 1928 Olympics in Zuiderzee Netherlands on a frigid and shallow Bay in the North Sea.
Anker became famous for his Dragon design, which along with the six metres are still raced competitively all over the world.
Nearly a century later, and over 8,000 nautical miles east of Amsterdam, Johan’s sister ship Selma won her class this past December in the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta and missed another first by a narrow 10 seconds last week in the Bay Regatta in the warm Andaman Sea out of Ao Por Marina on the east coast of Phuket.
For the grand finale of what was reported as the best Bay Regatta to date, HM the King of Thailand sent the top Admiral in his Navy to present the medals and trophies in full regalia.
Selma is skippered and owned by a salty, fortyish, flip-flopping Frenchman, Cedric Rimaud, who grew up racing antique wooden boats off San Tropez and Monaco in the Mediterranean.
His love for wooden boats, coupled with a passion for the purity of metre-class racing, has possessed and led him to purchase two six-metre boats in the United States, and two more in Europe, and shipping them for restoration and resale to the skilled boat builders at Modify Marine on the hard at Krabi Boat Lagoon.
Cedric is a messiah of sorts and is organising interested sailors to come to Krabi to sail these yachts ranging from 30 to 44 feet and ultimately form their own class of boats that will not be strangled by the frustrating and often unfair handicapping systems.
Metre-class racing is very simple: Whoever crosses the finish line first, wins.
The balance of this year’s crew on Selma hailed from China, Holland, France, Russia, England and myself, a bowman and Captain from the freshwater Great Lakes in Northern Michigan.
There is an indescribable spirit to racing and maintaining these all wooden boats that cut so close to the water.
It feels like they have a soul of their own, deep and mystical and that we humans are merely temporary caretakers. They are classically simple.
Owners and crew snuggle into the sails or string hammocks from the boom and sleep beneath the stars. I felt humbled to be a part of this rich history.
And, the exotic flavours of Thailand provide a year-round seascape that entices competitors from all over the world to these easily accessible regattas.
Profound cultural diversity here in Thailand, as well as Malaysia, Singapore and China, has mercilessly held my attention over these past several months.
Indeed, to breeze past the start with the screams of the Russians awkwardly holding down the windward rail aiming for the first mark, a towering karst on an azure sea left me, a very seasoned sailor, simply awestruck.
Perhaps the spirit of King Olav or the beloved Thai King himself is responsible for this feeling, like they were sailing along?
I’m not sure, but I will definitely be on Selma and possibly even skippering Erne, which is close to finished in Krabi for the upcoming Top of the Gulf Regatta in Pattaya this April 30 through May 4.
Let’s get out on the water and make some memories!
If anyone is interested in experiencing 6mR classic sailing in Thailand, especially in Phuket or Krabi, please get in touch at: www.facebook.com/6mRThailand or contact Cedric on 095 959 9733 or by email: cedric.rimaud@hotmail.fr
Captain Michael Sutherland – USA