A Brief History of the Etchells Class
In 1965 Yachting Magazine sponsored a
design competition based on the International Yacht Racing Union (IYRU-
now ISAF) specifications for a new three-man Olympic keelboat. Skip
Etchells, yacht designer and boat builder from Greenwich,
Connecticut, USA, followed the results of this competition with
interest, but not until trials were set for the fall of 1966 in
Kiel, Germany, did he decide to design and build a contender. The
result of Skip’s effort was SHILLALAH, which was taken to Kiel and
sailed by Skip. Entries in the competition, including SOLING,
CONQUEROR, THRICE, ANDER and KOBOLD, sailed ten races, eight of
which were won by SHILLALAH.
 Because
they could not agree, the judges decided to try again in 1967 at
Travemunde, Germany, and invited the 5.5 Meter and DRAGON as well.
Skip re-built his boat in fiberglass, using the wood SHILLALAH for
the mould plug. The second selection regatta involved 13 races ten
of which were won by Skip; an eleventh win was missed by only one
second. Although the uncontested racing winner was SHILLALAH II, the
SOLING was inexplicably picked as the Olympic boat. One of the most
interesting facts that came out of this competition was the vastly
superior sailing performance of most of the new creations over the
old standby keelboat classes. The brand new 5.5 Meter was soundly
beaten by Skip’s design and the Dragon came in last to everyone in
point scoring.
By the time SHILLALAH II came home to Connecticut in fall 1967, her
performance had already attracted a following. George Cane, James
Fulton and David Larr from the Long Island Sound area actively
demonstrated the prototype to friends and sailors in the area. In a
few weeks time, enough interest was generated to begin production.
An initial order of 12 boats was placed with Skip’s yard, Old
Greenwich Boat Company, for 1968 delivery. A class organization
formed immediately and the boat was named E 22 because the design is
22 feet on the waterline. Contrary to rumor, the name is not a sly
dig at Skip’s Star Class pals who frequently called his wonderfully
built Stars “Etchells 22s.” Strict One-Design measurement rules were
firmed up and a racing schedule was set up for that year. Skip and
the Old Greenwich Boat Company built the first 36 Etchells from 1967
to 1969, and continued to finish boats molded for him by Tillotson-Pearson
through the early seventies.
 In
1972, the IYRU formally recognized the E 22, as a first step towards
granting International status. The Class Rules, Measurement Form and
Rules Pertaining to One-Design Control were subsequently accepted by
the IYRU and the Class was officially recognized as an International
Class effective July 1, 1974. In 1990, the yacht and the Class
officially revised their names, dropping the “22” to become
“International Etchells” and “International Etchells Class
Association”, respectively. A new logo, eliminating the “22”, was
designed and accepted by the Class in 1996. From the beginning the
Class grew steadily in North America. Tillotson-Pearson took over
the total production from Skip Etchells in 1971. Alan Teitge began
building the boat in Tacoma, Washington and fleets began to appear
from coast to coast. In 1975, Ontario Yachts started producing
Etchells in Canada and by 1982 Ontario had supplied over 100 boats
to fleets in Toronto and Halifax, as well as to US fleets in
California, Washington, New York, and Massachusetts. In California,
Driscoll Custom Boats became a licensed builder in 1976. Currently,
the twenty-six active fleets in the United States are located in
every section of the country with over 625 members.
 Activity
outside North America began with the establishment of the
International E22 Class Association of Australia in 1973. Tooling
was shipped to Tom Savage in Melbourne. Within a year he built 30
boats, and until he stopped building boats in 1980, Tom Savage would
build 127 Etchells. In 1981, Pamcraft was granted the Etchells
license in Australia and during the next 10 years built 200
Etchells. From the fall of 1991 to the spring of 1996, Bashford Boat
Builders built 111 boats for the avid Australian Etchells market.
Currently, Pacesetter Etchells P/L is the Australian builder. As of
December 2004, there are thirteen very active fleets in Australia
with over 600 members. The Australian National Association has
contributed strong Class leadership and has been host to nine
Etchells World Championships.
In Scotland in 1974, Robertsons of
Sandbank began production. In 1995, Petticrows Ltd. in
Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, England, took over production for the
United Kingdom. In 2004, David Heritage Racing Yachts bought
Petticrows moulds and obtained a building licence from ISAF.
With the establishment of fleets in
Israel, Italy in the mid-1990’s, Denmark in 2001, France in 2003 and
Ireland in 2004 growth in the European market continues. A fleet in
the Netherlands is anticipated by late 2005.
The first Etchells World Championship
in Europe was held at Cowes on the Isle of Wight in 1996. The 2001
World Championship was hosted by the Lymington Fleet on Christchurch
Bay near the Solent and the Worlds will return to Cowes in 2007. The
newer fleets have been keen participants in major events. The first
French fleet, located in Antibes hosted the 2003 European
Championship, sponsored by Bugatti. The Irish fleet held its first
Irish National Open late August 2004 and drew Russell Coutts as well
as several top British teams. The Fleet based at the Howth Yacht
Club, near Dublin will host the 2005 Irish National Open and 2005
European Championship on back to back weekends in late August.
The Hong Kong fleet established in
the early seventies continues to flourish with boats imported from
Australia and the United States. Their successful Asian Pacific
Championship series sponsored by OOCL shipping agents attracted
worldwide participation. The 1997 Etchells World Championship was
held in Hong Kong; it was the first international regatta held in
the Peoples Republic of China.
A strong active fleet has grown in
Bermuda where each spring the Bermuda International Race Week
attracts Etchells skippers invited from fleets all over the world.
New Zealand, one of the newest National Associations, has embraced
the Etchells with tremendous fervor and enthusiasm. From 1995 to
2000 the number of Etchells grew from three boats to 60 and from
zero to three fleets. New Zealand Class leaders, mainly Doug Reid,
organized the 1996 Qantas Etchells Regatta to attract interest in
the Etchells Class. This very successful regatta brought six legends
of sailing Buddy Melges, Bruce Nelson, Rod Davis, Russell Coutts and
former Etchells World Champions Colin Beashel and Dennis Conner to
Pine Harbour Yacht Club to compete in the evenly matched Etchells.
The regatta sponsored by Qantas, Sheraton Hotels, Mobil Oil and
Steinlager enjoyed national television coverage and was an
outstanding event watched by thousands of spectators on shore and
hundreds of spectator boats on the race course.
The New Zealand Etchells Class
Association’s strong growth is a direct result of the boat’s
performance and the strict One-Design Class Rules which govern the
Class, as well as New Zealand’s legendary love affair with sailing a
sweet boat.
The One-Design Technical Committee and the board of Governors have
worked very diligently over the years to maintain the integrity of
the boat and strict adherence to the One Design rules. A major
result of this effort is that older boats remain competitive,
allowing newcomers to join the Class with a modest investment.
Currently 1310 boats have been built, with more than eight hundred
racing competitively worldwide. In the past few years a trend is
emerging for some older Etchells to be converted to very attractive,
high performance daysailers.
A U.S. National Championship was
first held in 1968. By 1975, the competition for the Founder’s
Trophy, donated by Mary and Skip Etchells, included representatives
from North America, Europe and Australia and became the World’s
Championship. Current Class membership is over 1600 sailors from
thirteen countries. Class members include sailing greats such as
Dennis Conner, Dave Curtis, Russell Coutts and Gary Jobson.
Families, young talent and impressive Masters and Seniors divisions
bring a great diversity to the Class. The annual World Championship
is now a showcase for international talent from fifty fleets
worldwide. The strength of the Class is the enthusiasm and talent of
all its membership paired with a well designed boat and the strict
adherence to the One-Design rules. |
