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History
HISTORY OF 8MR LUNA, FIN 17
Harri and Markus Roschier have been racing together since the 70´s. First it was the super-quick 2-man dinghy 505. Gradually, the family moved to offshore racing, most of our boats were “fastest in Finland”.
For decades we were successful in offshore racing with 40-47 ft boats and crews between 7 and 10 persons. We mostly won line honours but had to wait for hours for the calculated results. We then got the idea of returning to non-handicap round-the-cans racing. Intensive research in 2010 pointed at the classical beauty, the 8mR. The boat was ideal for a 7-strong crew and racing seemed tight and challenging. The target was the World Cup in Helsinki 2013.
We decided to go for a new replica boat, with 100% of the wood being new and perfect. Buying a 80 year boat, where 150% of the wood had already been replaced during the years and the whole boat maybe suffering from structural issues did not sound attractive.
Finland mostly has light to moderate winds; the search was therefore for a successful all-round/light-wind 8 mR boat. Designed by Charles E. Nicholson in 1930, Vision seemed superior with several World Cup wins. Drawings for a sister ship that was never built were found at British Museum (£ 30!) and the search for a good boat-builder started.
David Viera´s Absolute Projects in Portugal was chosen. They had just built the 8mR Aun for Japan and restored many others. Their reputation of beautiful, high-quality boats was supported by one important statement: “David is a perfect gentleman”. One of the carpenters was the Bowman of Vision!
David produced new, high-quality drawings and we made some small alterations within the Sira rule: The cockpit was optimized for racing and moved forward, and the teak deck was replaced by 80 kg lighter cedar. A second-hand aluminium mast was bought from another 8mR, moving from Sira Class to Neptun.
The fantastic, beautiful LUNA was launched in March 2012 in Lisbon. Unfortunately, the mast broke during a heavy weather training session. The Perfect Gentleman helped us and promised to quickly deliver “the best wooden mast in the world” to replace the old aluminium mast. We have never regretted this change.
Red Alert was given to the 8mR family around the World: Juliane Hempel made miracles in designing the new mast in zero-time, John Lammerts van Bueren delivered the wood even quicker, and David and his carpenters worked day and night to finish the mast. The mast was then supposed to be the fastest on water and for sure it had the fastest production time ever.
Finally, we came to the World Cup in Cowes in the last minute, unprepared with the wooden mast. Strong winds and rain almost every day! We repaired and finished Luna every night. We got very valuable help and support from our coach Philip Crebbin, a former 8mR World Champion. Another friend, a fellow competitor Fabrice from Catina, spent hours at the top of our mast until he became seasick. After very much hard work, we surprisingly finished second in the Sira class!
Our amateur team has always practiced a lot. Having almost the same crew for years helps very much. For 2025 we will have a new Bowman: the young, tall, strong, and smart Mikko Hongell.
Luna has been on the podium in many World Cups. In 2016 we won the Europeans in Copenhagen and in 2018 the Worlds in Langenargen (Germany). Some people say we have unofficially also won the non-existing “most beautiful 8-metre trophy” many times. Now the focus is on the Turku World Cup in 2025. We know the boat, the racing area and each other. We have ordered light to moderate winds. Will that all help us to win the Cup?
