Legends of the IOR era.
Still racing.
Prototypes born for the Half Ton Cup, a Belgian fleet that races together, and a certain idea of what racing should be.
The golden age of yacht design, still on the water.
Designed and built between 1966 and 1993 to race the Half Ton Cup, the Half Tonners lived through the golden age of the IOR rule. Farr, Berret, Joubert, Humphreys, Andrieu and Gahinet drew new boats every season, each meant to be faster than last year's. Prototypes, built in small numbers, often one-offs.
Forty years on, they are still racing: maintained, restored or reimagined by owners who know every inch of them. The Belgian Half Ton Class brings this fleet together around an annual championship: the Belgian Half Ton Series.
A class where elegance is measured by conduct, and performance is settled on the water.
As if you were there.
The story of the Cup, year by year, told from the press of the day. At the very first edition, in 1966, a boat from Ostend was on the start line.
"Raki" wins the first Half Ton Cup
Nine entries, seven starters, six clubs including the North Sea Yacht Club of Ostend. Three races in the sheltered waters off La Rochelle, and two Armagnacs finishing level on points.
Winner Raki · Armagnac · Philippe Harlé
Read the 1966 chronicle
« Safari » et le festival des Arpège
Vingt-neuf bateaux de quatre nations, des vents mous, une course au large de 155 milles qui se joue de nuit au pied de l'île d'Yeu. Et Michel Dufour, à bord de son propre Arpège, qui gagne la Coupe.
Winner Safari · Arpège · Michel Dufour
Read the 1967 chronicle
La revanche de « Dame d'Iroise »
Pénalisée en 1967, Dame d'Iroise revient et écrase tout : Michel Perroud et son Super Challenger blanc gagnent la Half Ton Cup avec quinze points d'avance. Quatre manches, des brises de terre capricieuses, et une nuit de navigation qui renverse le classement.
Winner Dame d'Iroise · Super Challenger · Michel Perroud
Read the 1968 chronicle
« Scampi », triomphe suédois sur la Baltique
Pour la première fois, la Coupe quitte La Rochelle. Quarante-deux bateaux à Sandhamn, dans l'archipel de Stockholm, et un petit prototype bleu, dessiné par un voilier de 28 ans, qui gagne quatre manches sur cinq. Au départ, un Belge : le Defender 18 d'André Nélis.
Winner Scampi · prototype · Peter Norlin
Read the 1969 chronicle
« Scampi » encore, et la Baltique en colère
Deuxième Coupe à Sandhamn, et deuxième victoire pour Peter Norlin et son Scampi. Trente-trois bateaux classés, des champions olympiques à la barre, du calme plat jusqu'au force 8, et trois démâtages dans la dernière course.
Winner Scampi II · prototype · Peter Norlin
Read the 1970 chronicle
Preserve the legend.
Prototypes kept in their original configuration. They race as their designers intended, and every win pays tribute to the design.
Push the limits.
Keels, rudders, masts and sails rethought: historic hulls that have never stopped evolving. The prototype spirit, carried on forty years later.
Gentlemen racing.
A class is more than its boats. It is the five principles the Belgian fleet commits to, on the water and ashore.
- I
Sporting excellence
Serious racing, clear rules, rigorous organisation.
- II
Fair play
Respect for opponents, for the jury and for those who organise.
- III
Elegance
Exemplary conduct afloat and ashore. Without financial elitism.
- IV
Passing it on
Knowledge, history and experience are shared.
- V
Camaraderie
Rivals during the race. Friends after the line.
Serious racing, great times ashore.The motto of the Belgian fleet
Fourteen boats, fourteen stories.
Each has its designer, its yard, its years of glory, and a skipper who is its guardian.
Other Belgian Half Tonners.
Other prototypes fly the Belgian flag and are part of the fleet's history.
The fleet, racing.
Close-quarters starts, hiking upwind, gybing under spinnaker: the North Sea as a playground.
Photos: BATUR · batur.be · Morning Breeze: KNS, Selden Half Ton Classics Cup 2026
Belgian Half Ton Series 2027.
Six events, from April to September: technical windward-leeward racing, coastal races, the crossing to Ramsgate and a Belgian Championship counting double. Overall, Vintage and Proto standings, on IRC corrected time.
- AprilCoastal Weekend IBelgian coastCoastal · 15 to 35 miles
- MayFlanders Trophy INieuwpoortWindward-leeward
- 6 – 8 MayOstend – RamsgateNorth SeaCrossing
- JuneJoly SailorsKYCN · NieuwpoortDouble-handed
- Late AugustFlanders Trophy IINieuwpoortWindward-leeward
- SeptemberBelgian ChampionshipVenue to be confirmedCounts double
Belgian Championship 2026.
Five races, IRC corrected time. The 2027 Series standings will be published here after the first event.
| Pos | Boat | Club | IRC | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Cloud BEL 8500 · TFL Proto | KYCN | 0.954 | 11UFD | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 15 |
| 2 | Spip BEL 5399 · TMA Proto | KYCN | 0.923 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 16 |
| 3 | Waverider BEL 3486 · FRA · PSC Vintage | CVSAE | 0.926 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 19 |
| 4 | General Tapioca BEL 7548 · PPI Proto | BRYC | 0.948 | 11UFD | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 20 |
| 5 | Fantasy BEL 5394 · IVA Vintage | KYCN | 0.919 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 22 |
| 6 | Halfajet BEL 8444 · CPO Proto | BRYC | 0.941 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 26 |
| 7 | A+ BEL 5678 · API Vintage | VYN | 0.932 | 5 | 7.5 | 11DNF | 7 | 6 | 36.5 |
| 8 | The Big Picture BEL 5522 · VLE Proto | KYCN | 0.942 | 7 | 7.5 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 38.5 |
| 9 | Tom Pouce BEL 7529 · BJA Vintage | KLYC | 0.934 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 39 |
| 10 | M'Half Raz BEL 1595 · MVA Vintage | BRYC | 0.943 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 47 |
UFD: disqualified at the start (U flag) · DNF: did not finish · Points equal to the number of entries + 1 for an unclassified race.