Beating the Coronavirus blues

The world has turned upside down, and life as we know it has changed for the foreseeable future. Coronavirus has us in its grip and as a result we are all now having to do our bit and stay politely out of each other’s way.

For us sailors this means that many of our usual fixtures have been cancelled and, while we know it is all for the greater good, it can only come as a disappointment. So many of us in the northern hemisphere have just spent the winter scraping and varnishing our boats ready to be relaunched, hoping for our next win. But just as the spring arrives, our fun is curtailed. Let’s hope for some solo sailing on a fresh ocean breeze to keep the bugs at bay.

All is not lost, however, because we are still here. While you are sitting in your home and feeling miserable at not being able to race, you can always pay us a visit to chase away the blues. Here are five things you can do with us while you are sitting at home.

1. Explore the archives

We have hundreds of pages of articles and archives for you to browse and photographs and objects to amuse you. The newsletters are particularly interesting and very useful for finding out information on individual boats over the past 40 years.

2. Set yourself a research project

Why not use the archive to undertake your own research project? Is there something you have always wanted to know, and can we help you find out more? If you can’t find what you are looking for on the website you are welcome to get in touch as we might have something on our “to be scanned” shelf. We would love to know how people are using the site and we can share your findings in the “Six Metre Stories”.

3. Dig out your own archives

Why not use your time at home to dig through that box of paperwork in your attic and pick out your own Six Metre archives and photographs? If you can scan or photograph them you can send them in and we can add them to our collection.

4. Check out the competition!

You can use our race results to find out how well any boat has done in the past. We have Olympic results from 1908 to 1952, Europeans from 2000 to 2018 and Worlds from 1973 to 2019. Every boat has a unique ID number; if you search for that number in the Race Results section you will find every occurrence we have of that boat’s racing history.

5. Read our stories

Did you visit the Six Metre exhibition in the town hall in Hanko in 2019? Or did you miss it because you were too busy sailing? If you did miss it, or would like to revisit it, the entire exhibition text is available to read in our Six Metre Stories area.

We also have a new story, kindly written by Nigel Sharp, a well-known UK maritime historian, which explores the history of the fabled British-American Cup.

If you have your own Six Metre story to share – perhaps an amusing anecdote or a more in depth research piece, or even a collection of photographs – we would love to hear from you!

And finally… Can you support us?

If you have enjoyed using the archive or are a regular user we would really appreciate a donation. The project is funded entirely through donations by individuals and every little really does help. You can donate by clicking the button below and contacting our secretary. Thank you!