The Jean Genie (GBR 43, Peter Morton, Andrew Palfrey, Ruairidh Scott) has won the 2025 5.5 Metre World Championship in Sopot, Poland, after the final day of racing on Friday. Aspire (POL 17, Przemek Gacek, Mateusz Kusznierewicz, Kilian Weise) finally ended up second with Ku-Ring-Gai III (AUS 66, John Bacon, Edward Wright, Joost Houweling) in third. Race wins on the final day went to Ku-Ring-Gai III and The Jean Genie in the slightly lighter northerly breeze.
It’s possibly been a long time coming but Peter Morton is finally 5.5 Metre World Champion. His boat won it three years ago when he couldn’t make it and the last two years were unfulfilled, but in Sopot he finally realised the potential of his crew and boat to win the world title. He said he was ‘very happy to finally get the job done’. It came down to the final race, but he had a habit of staying out of trouble and minimising risk and that paid off, with his fourth race win of the week.
After a very tough week of racing in Sopot, the championship came to an end Friday with 12-16 knots northerly, again very steady in direction with few gains to be made outside good starts and pure boat speed.
In race 8, Girls on Film (GBR 41 Louise Morton, Charlie Cumbley, Sam Haines) started well near pin and tacked once to lead from Artemis (NOR 57, Kristian Nergaard, Johan Barne Trond, Solli-Sæther). Ku-Ring-Gai III took lead on run and led round to win from Girls on Film and Artemis. The Jean Genie rounded fifth and fought with No Stress (GER 39 Donald Lippert, Ralf Göpfert, Jörg Sonntag) while keeping an eye on Aspire. The Jean Genie went for pin at the finish and passed No Stress on the line to gain another crucial point. Aspire crossed sixth, so Morton took a three-point lead into the final race.
The final race was a change of course with an upwind finish, 1.5 miles closer to the crane in Gdynia, where most boats sailed to after the finish. It was an uneventful race and led from start to finish by The Jean Genie, to put the title beyond doubt. Aspire crossed third to secure the silver, while the day was won by Ku-Ring-Gai III who took second.
Tonight, as the competitors bid farewell to Sopot and the amazing hospitality of the past two week, they will applaud the winners and the new World Champions at a 5-star gala dinner on the 34th floor of the Olivia Star Gdańsk, with a spectacular views over the Baltic coast.
Photo gallery Day 5: https://www.flickr.com/photos/fivepointfivemetre/albums/72177720326824855
Final results after 9 races
1 The Jean Genie (GBR 43, Peter Morton, Andrew Palfrey, Ruairidh Scott) 19
2 Aspire (POL 17, Przemek Gacek, Mateusz Kusznierewicz, Kilian Weise) 25
3 Ku-Ring-Gai III (AUS 66, John Bacon, Edward Wright, Joost Houweling) 27
4 Girls on Film (GBR 41, Louise Morton, Sam Haines, Charlie Cumbley) 37
5 Artemis (NOR 57, Kristian Nergaard, Johan Barne Trond, Solli-Sæther) 38
6 Marie-Françoise XXII (SUI 233, Jürg Menzi, Jürgen Eiermann, Christof Wilke) 47
7 Beta Crucis (AUS 63, Martin Cross, Bob Stoddard, Simon Reffold) 57
8 Otto (NOR 68, Bent Christian Wilhelmsen, Lasse Berthelsen, Herve Cunningham) 64
9 Manly (AUS 44, Marc Ryan, Dave Edwards, Josh Grace) 70
10 New Moon III (BAH 25, Mark Holowesko, Christoph Burger, Peter Vlasov) 72
Full results: https://5.5worlds.org/file-share/348a758e-792b-497e-819c-7c82d76144ed
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