European J/70 Sailing League Updates

 

(Hamburg, Germany)- The 2021 pandemic versions of the thirteen-plus J/70 sailing leagues across Europe are coming up with a variety of clever programs to ensure there is racing, lockdowns or not. Perhaps the most clever and aggressive plan comes from the Norwegians.

Starting their fifth season of racing J/70s on their idyllic settings of fjords and villages by the sea, the league plans to have both "open" and "lockdown" scenarios as part of their strategy for the 2021 season. 

Viggo Holm, leader of Sandefjord Sailing Association explained, "we in Sandefjord Sailing Association are excited to once again host and manage the first sailing league event for Norway's best sailors! We promise a good atmosphere, and here in Norway's sunny county we are betting on the weather providing us good winds and lots of sun. With beautiful Seilerholmen as an arena, we will offer sailors food and drink between battles and a place to relax. Sailing in Norway needs a real sailing party now after the corona, and we will achieve that!"


From May 29-30 the opening event will be held with 15 teams in each of the two divisions. Åsgårdstrand Seilforening are still defending champions from the 2019 season, since the 2020 season was wiped out by the covid-19 pandemic. 

During this year's sailing league season, there will also be a fight for places in the Sailing Champions League. After the end of the season, the four best in the elite series will have the opportunity to try their hand internationally, sailing the emerald waters off Porto Cervo, Italy at YC Costa Smeralda.

A novelty for this year is that any event, if the corona situation requires it, can be held as a mixed doublehanded regatta, instead of the boats being fully manned by four sailors.

"That we have made the opening to be able to sail mixed doublehanded in the league rounds, means that it must be a very impossible corona situation for the sailing league not to be able to be completed this year," says Magnus Hedemark from SailLogic, the firm responsible for the implementation of the sailing league.


Anniversary party in Larvik
After Sandefjord, the journey continues to Larvik, where the teams will meet again for the competition from June 19-20. The city of Larvik is celebrating its 350th anniversary this year, and the sailing league competition will be part of the celebration. 

Bjarte Løchen, who is the regatta manager in Larvik Sailing Association, commented that, "we aim to use the same sailing arena in Larvik's inner harbor. But, we will take into account extra space on land due to infection control regulations, and therefore plan to lay the sailing base on Sanden Pier in front of Kulturhuset Bølgen. We hope for a lot of life and fun and extra attention around the event."

Exciting finale in the west
The big finale will take place on September 11-12, and for the first time the sailing league will visit Florø. Florø Sailing Association has been in the league from the very beginning and is in the elite series. The team has sailed there for three of four seasons.  Follow Norwegian J/70 Sailing League on Facebook here.   For more J/70 Sailing League information

Herud/ Kolstand Duo Triumph @ Norway J/70 Doublehanded Regatta

 

(Oslo, Norway)- If there was a sailing league that truly got "deep-sixed" by a combination of the pandemic and the Covid-19 "social guidelines", it had to be the Norwegian J/70 Sailing League. Comprised of at least a dozen clubs, sailing their six J/70s, the league has seen most excellent competition amongst the clubs. This year, the anticipation and expectations, sadly, were all but eviscerated with a complete cancellation of the 2020 sailing league season. Despite that fact, it did not dampen the spirit and enthusiasm for Norwegian sailors to get on the water once the "lockdowns" were reduced or eliminated.

One idea that "flew" with the government regulators was a "double-handed" J/70 sailing regatta. It met all of the strict limitations, so it recently took place in Ulabrand, near Oslo, Norway in the fleet of a half-dozen J/70s! Enthusiasm was strong for the event and when the announcement went out, it was quickly over-subscribed, with a number of teams relegated to being spectators to cheer on their friends. In total, a dozen teams sailed on Saturday as a qualifier, with Sunday being the final for the top six teams. 


It was a fantastic weekend for sailing. After two days of lots of great sailing, the worthy winners were Celine Herud and Thomas Kolstad from Royal Norwegian Sailforening. It was a super exciting finale that was not decided before the last boat crossed the finish line. You can't get a more exciting finish! 

Thanks to everyone who helped create a great, spontaneous event around the new concept- J/70 Double-handed Mixed Racing. There is definitely going to be more of it; especially since it's a proposed Paris 2024 Olympics Mixed Double-handed Offshore medal event!

Finally, a big "Thank You" to those who made this event possible: Kongelig Norsk Seilforening, Grundig Sailing Cup and Norsk Seilsportsliga / SailLogic. We need to do more of this!! Fun to work with so many talented people!  Sailing photo credits: Thomas Nilsson / SailLogic  For more Norway J/70 Doublehanded Regatta sailing information

KSSS Crowned Nordic J/70 Champions

(Mariehamn, Finland)- After completing the Finnish J/70 Sailing League Championship the previous weekend, the Åländska Segelsällskapet hosted the Nordic Sailing Clubs Championship again in Mariehamn, Åland. Eleven teams from across the Scandinavian peninsula participated in the event, with teams representing Sweden, Norway, and Finland.

After two days of racing and nine races sailed, it was the KSSS (Kungliga Svenska Segelsällskapet) team of Björn Hansen, Phillip Kai Guhle, Nils Bjerkås and Mathias Bredin that took home the gold medal with 15 pts total.  Second was the host club’s Åländska Segelsällskapet 1 Team with 17 pts total.  Then, taking the bronze was GSF (Grimstad Seilförening) with 19 pts. The KSSS team was pretty dominant overall, winning five of their nine races.  Follow the Finnish J/70 Sailing League on Facebook here  For more Finnish J/70 Sailing League information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Danish J/70 WoW Regatta Promotes Women’s Sailing

(Copenhagen, Denmark)- After a great WoW (Women On Water) success in 2018, all sails were set for the second annual edition in 2019. The event was extended to 21 teams; this year WoW teams came from Portugal, Germany and Sweden to race on the Danish J/70 Sailing League boats. Host for the regatta was Sundby Sailing Club.

"For us, it's a great thing to be able to attract guests from abroad as well as from the local area, especially when there are so many other things happening around us. The community that we have in the club after a weekend like this continues for the rest of the year and we can use that weekend to bring our sailing community together in Sundby. This is also why we like to host the WoW event,” says Jesper Lorents, who sits on the board of Sundby Sailing Association and one of the key people behind the event.

It was close racing at the top of the leaderboard.  The KDY (Kongelig Dansk Yachtklub) Team of PELLE P (Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen, Helle Ørum Ryhding, Anne Sofie Munk-Hansen, Henriette Koch and Tina Schmidt Gramkov) was up against a formidable crew on Hellerup Sejlklub HS WILD comprised of Klara Ekdahl, Anna Ekdahl, Clara Svensdotter, Isabell Jobson and Julia Stålberg.

Despite the fact that both HS WILD and PELLE P only counted all podium finishes all weekend long, they were essentially tied going into the last race. In the crucial final race, PELLE P was leading at the bottom of the first of two windward-leeward legs. However, a bad takedown of the spinnaker enabled the HS WILD team to blow by them and win the crucial last race, with PELLE P taking second.  As a result, HS WILD won, with PELLE P in second and PLASTIC CHANGE Team in third.

The sailing was difficult for the sailors. The event started out with very heavy fog and virtually no wind, then slowly improved over the next two days. Despite the conditions, all the teams kept their fighting spirit. One thing the women were very good at was “networking”, spending a lot of team getting to know each other better during the repetitive postponements.  Follow the WoW Regattas on Facebook here   For more Danish J/70 Sailing League WoW events information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

MOSS Tops Norwegian J/70 League @ Trondhjems

Åsgårdstrand Seilforening Crowned Season Champion
(Trondhjems, Norway)- Fifteen teams participated in the 2019 Norwegian J/70 Sailing League, with the season ending finale taking place in Trondhjems, Norway. The first three events took place in Oslo, Hanko, and Arendal. Trondhjems Sailing Association hosted the finale.


Trondhjems Winners- the Bordal family of Per Christian, Marie, Herman, and Henrik sailing for Moss Seilforening.

Åsgårdstrand Seilforening managed to survive the fourth and final regatta of the 2019 Norwegian J/70 Sailing League to take the overall title. It was a close battle in the finale, as Åsgårdstrand could not finish worse than 4th, with Tønsberg Seilforening winning the event, as they would lose the tie-breaker based on first places.

By winning the last race, Åsgårdstrand secured fourth place for the regatta and the season championship. Tønsberg ended up in third place for the regatta and, consequently, earned the silver overall. Then, BI Athletics Seiling finished 5th in the regatta, taking third overall.


Family teams stole the show
However, another team stole the show in Trondheim. For Moss Seilforening, four Bordal family members represented the club- father Per Christian Bordal, Secretary General of the Norwegian Sailing Association, and his children Marie, Henrik and Herman Bordal. Most importantly, they sailed “lights out” for the entire event, handily winning the regatta against all the top sailing clubs and world-class talent in Norway.

“It was beyond all expectations, and we probably didn't think twice about it. It went so well for us! We just tried to make it as easy as possible and sail our own races. Marie skippered, Henrik was trimming and Herman was mainsheet/ tactician. The only thing I did was manage,” laughed Per Christian Bordal.

And, keeping it simple is often the best. Because, by winning the final event, Moss Seilforening qualified for the elite series again in 2020.

“Trondhjems Sailing Association was a great host for the final round of the sailing sports league. It was sunny and demanding wind conditions, we got many flights, and there were many people and a lot that happened on land in connection with the event. Among other things, "Passion for Ocean" had its big festival for the first time in Trondheim in our immediate vicinity. So, I think it was a nice ending to this year's league season,” commented Magnus Hedemark of SailLogic, the organization managing the league. For more Norwegian J/70 Sailing League information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

NORWEGIAN STEAM Crowned J/70 Norway Champ!

(Hanko, Norway)- Hankø Race Week was established in 1882 and over 137 years has developed as the greatest one-design event in Norway. In cooperation with Fredrikstad Seilforening, Hankø Yacht Club and GRUNDIG, the thirty-one J/70 teams were treated to three great days of sailing in the bay off Hanko.

In the end, the J/70 Nordic Championship and J/70 Norwegian Championship was held from June 27th to 29th with teams from Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. The hometown favorites from the host yacht club, NORWEGIAN STEAM, sailed a very consistent regatta to just win by two points. The Steamers were led by Eivind Astrup, with crew of Lasse Berthelsen, Pal Tonnrsson, and Espen Tonnesson; they counted all podium finishes in their eight of nine races they counted.  Taking second was Moss Seilforening’s Jorn-Erik Ruud, also counting just podium placings for 16 pts net. Taking the bronze on the podium was Magne Klann’s VIEW SOFTWARE team from Soon Seilforening with 25 pts net.  The balance of the top five included Magnus Hedemark’s SAIL LOGIC RACING in 4th with 39 pts and the top Swedish team in 5th place- Jan Bjornsjo’s ACE OF BASE from Ekero Batklubb with 41 pts net.  For more J/70 Nordic Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/70 Nordic Championship Preview

(Hanko, Norway)- The J/70 Nordic Championship and J/70 Norwegian Championship will be held at Hanko, Norway from June 27th to 29th, hosted by the Hanko Yacht Club. The thirty-six entries are composed of 21 Norwegian and 15 foreign teams from Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.

The top hometown teams include Egil Ronaes’ LUCKY JACK, Halvor Friisk’s SINNATAGG Sailing Team, Kristoffer Spone’s HELLY HANSEN II, Madeleine Osteby’s TEAM SUMMIT TO SAIL, and Marie Lothe’s NOR 1. The top Swedish team is Anders Rosenberg’s DYNAMANT and the top Danish team is Bjerne Sorensen’s FRYNSKE BANK.

For more J/70 Nordic Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Risor SC Crowned Norwegian J/70 League Champion

(Arendal, Norway)- The fourth and final act of the Norwegian J/70 Sailing League took place off the picturesque harbor of Arendal, Norway.  Winning the final event was Asgardstrand Sailing Club.  However, it was Risor Sailing Club’s consistency through all four events (Bodo- 4th, Molde- 1st, Larvik- 2nd, Arendal- 3rd) that enabled them to finish the last regatta in third place and handily clinch the season championship for the Norwegian League with just 10 pts total. Their crew for the finale included Mads and Tomas Mathisen, Morten Røisland and Regine Tronstad.

In the Arendal regatta, Åsgårdstrand Sailing Association (with Jostein Grødem, Karl Otto Book, Trym Markussen and Lena Louise Vinje-Christensen on board) nearly ran the table on the fleet, posting seven 1sts and three 2nds in ten races to easily win the event.  Their performance vaulted them up the season standings into 5th place.  Brevik Sailing Club’s second place enabled them to breathe a sigh of relief, earning them the silver medal for the season championship.  Finally, RAN Sailing Club’s 5th place enabled them to hold onto the bronze medal on the podium for the season.

"There is no doubt that the level in the elite series has increased tremendously this season. It is no longer possible to come with an inexperienced crew or to trust in a good helmsman. In order to have a good team, you have to be focused on the competition in the sailing sport league, the teams get better every year, it is incredibly competitive,” said Magnus Hedemark, who is Project Manager for the Norwegian Seilsports League.

Like the other rounds of the sailing sport league, the finals in Arendal were also transferred directly to Facebook. Magne Klann and Thomas Nilsson conveyed what they observed with photos, videos, and the SAP SAILING graphics.

"We had four times as many viewers on our Facebook page than the average in the previous rounds. One of the reasons is, of course, that it was the final round. But, the interest has been increasing. Not least because the associations and sailors participating have been good at sharing on Facebook. We have now become a "community" that works very well,” said Hedemark, who hopes to be able to professionalize the sailing sport league further next year.

"The goal is to be the leader and an example of how the sport of league sailing can be communicated and displayed in Norway," he said.

“There is such strong interest in the Norwegian J/70 League that an additional half-dozen sailing clubs have requested to participate.  As a result, after the season this year, we will sell this year's five league boats to interested associations and we have received several inquiries from associations interested in buying, which indicates that both interest and ambitions are growing around sailing Norway," said Hedemark. “For next year's sailing season there will be five new J/70s that will be added to our fleet!”   Follow the Norwegian J/70 Sailing League here on Facebook  For more Norwegian J/70 Sailing League information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

KSSS Dominates Nordic J/70 Championship

(Sandhamn, Sweden)- Spectacular sailing conditions greeted the sailors participating in the 2018 Nordic J/70 Championship, hosted by the Royal Swedish YC (KSSS) off Sandhamn, Sweden.  In fact, the twenty-two teams were greeted by a little too much awesome weather conditions, with racing having to be canceled on Saturday due to sunny skies, warm air, and 25-35 kt winds!  In the end, Oscar Lundqvist’s crew on HILDA (Jacob Lundqvist, Erik & Oskar Skoting, & Oliver Österberg) counted four bullets and two deuces to crush their Scandinavian competitors, finishing with just 8 pts net!

The first day was three races take place in nearly ideal conditions. Bright sun, stable southern winds of 7 kts increasing to 16 kts by the afternoon, made for fun, challenging racing as the J/70s transitioned through the three downwind modes (VMG displacement, wing-on-wing, to full-on planing). After the three races, it was pretty clear which team had the best handle on those three modes, with Lundqvist’s HILDA crew posting a 2-1-1 to lead at the completion of racing on Friday with only 4 pts.  Sitting in second was Anders Kemmler’s DYNAMANT RACING team (Björn Kemmler, Ulf Camitz, & Mikael Lindqvist) with a 1-3-2 for 6 pts and rounding out the top of the leaderboard was the Tom Hallberg’s Finnish team on REVALENCE with a 3-2-10 for 15 pts.

Peter Åkerström, the KSSS PRO for the regatta, commented, “there were three tough, even races and no incidents. Fair and decisive sailing with ideal winds. Tomorrow, it seems to be worse with winds up to 20 m/s (25 kts-plus), according to weather reports. We'll see how the conditions are, at least we secured ourselves a good start to the regatta by running three races today!”

On the second day, the weather forecasts came true.  While a few teams ventured forth to “test” the conditions, along with a few choice “crashes” in the 25-30+ kt winds, racing was canceled for the day on the Rödkubbsfjärden, despite the spectacular sunny weather.

The finale on the third day was intensive, with no less than four races being run from morning to afternoon.  Again, it was four double windward-leeward races on the starting line north of Svängen.

KSSS PRO- Peter Åkerström- was pleased with how the sailors were doing, commenting that “although many boats were sailing well, it blew 10-12 m/s (15-23 kts) out there, the tough conditions proved to be a challenge for some of the less experienced crews.  Nevertheless, it was fair sailing and great, windy conditions with stable winds- what else can you ask for?! In total, we were happy to run seven races over the two racing days, that feels good!”

Reveling in those conditions were the KSSS teams, making a clean sweep of the podium.  Winning was Lundqvist’s crew on HILDA, followed by Kemmler’s DYNAMANT RACING in second.  Climbing fast up the leaderboard on the last day was Patrik Forsgren’s team on TEAM PRO4U (Sandra Sandqvist, Anders Mårtensson, Rebecka Harding, & Kenneth Edvardsson); posting a 1-7-2-1 to finish with 21 pts total and the bronze.

The balance of the top five was determined by a tie-breaker on 29 pts each, with Fabian Bergman’s TEAM LULU taking 4th place on the countback over John Hedberg’s EMELIE.   For more Nordic J/70 Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

NORWEGIAN STEAM Smokes Norwegian J/70 Nationals

(Hanko, Norway)- GRUNDIG Hankø Race Week is one of Norway's most famous annual regattas, and one of the summer's absolute highlights for sailing in Eastern Norway. Hankø is renowned for its good sailing conditions and location, and has been a focal point for sailors from home and abroad for more than a hundred years. The Royal Norwegian Yacht Club (KNS) collaborates with Hankø Yacht Club, founded by a bunch of adult sailors from KNS in 1954. Idyllic Hankø Yacht Club (HYC) is well protected from wind and on the other side of the bay lays the guest harbor and the royal Norwegian family cottage- “Bloksberg”.

Perhaps more importantly, Hankø's climate made the island attractive for summer holidays in the 20th century, and laid the foundation for what is today the Hankø spa hotel.  The venue is famous in Scandinavia for hosting numerous World Cup, Nordic Championship and National Norwegian Championships. 

For 2018, the KNS hosted the J/70 Norwegian Championship, the world’s fastest growing, and leading sportsboat class.  For the first Norwegian Nationals, a baker’s dozen boats participated to compete for the nation’s bragging rights as top team.

In the end, it was the most experienced J/70 team in Norway, Eivind Astrup’s NORWEGIAN STEAM, that was crowned Norwegian J/70 Champion after posting a very consistent scoreline of 2-4-1-2-2-2-1-3-1 for 14 pts net. Giving them a run-for-the-money with near identical scores was Jorn-Erik Ruud’s NOR 1242 from Moss Seilforening Club with a tally of 3-1-3-1-1-3-4-2-2 for 16 pts net.  Rounding out the podium was Magne Klann’s VIEW SOFTWARE from Soon Seilforening with a record of 1-3-2-3-5-4-8-4-3 for 25 pts net.
For more Norwegian J/70 Nationals sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Mattson Takes Swedish J/70 Nationals By A Whisker!

(Halmstad, Sweden)- Twenty-nine boats from across Scandinavia (Sweden, Finland, Norway) participated in the J/70 International Swedish Championship, hosted by Halmstad Segelsallskap.  The racing was fast and furious and produced a lot of close racing, with every team in the top five having to discard huge double-digit finishes after seven races and not one team counted all top ten scores!

Last year's Scandinavian Champion, Oscar Lundqvist, crewed for his brother and friends on HILDA.  Their team consisted of Jacob Lundqvist, Erik Skoting, Pelle Vickberg, and Oliver Österberg.  After missing an opportunity to win the regatta for the second straight year in a row by posting a disastrous last race 20th, Oscar commented on why they enjoy racing J/70s in Europe, "I do not think there is any class in the Nordic countries that can collect an even start-up field where all participants are well placed to win. We have also shown that the boat can sail at all ages, young and old. From our side we would have liked to see more young teams on the track. With a little will and hard work you can get a boat and get started with good conditions. When we were in Denmark recently, about half the field consisted of young crews, which was encouraging. Hopefully, this may happen here at home in Sweden as well, and in view of all the clubs that are now around the country, the conditions have never been better. Just jumping into a boat and driving is easy!”

After the first day's four races, Mikael Lindqvist’s DYNAMANT RACING from KSSS was the leader with a 14-1-2-16!  Second was Martin Fridh’s ISBAR crew (Ylva Hofvander Trulsson, Jakob Reuterskold, Jan-Erik Jonsson) with an equally scary tally of 16-6-7-2!  Then, even more eye-opening was the third place scores for Daniel Mattson’s Finish crew from Ålandske Segelsällskapet (Mathias Dahlman, Johan Nystrom, Staffan Lindberg), with an eye-popping 2-14-15-1!

Sunday’s three races produced even more extraordinary roller-coaster rides for everyone in the top ten.  The only boat to avoid a double-digit score was the ultimate regatta winner- Mattson’s FIN 673, posted a blistering record of 7-1-2 for a total score of 27 pts net.  The Swedish Lundqvist brothers on HILDA started the day with a 2-2 and were leading the regatta going into the final race. However, an unfortunate “digger” of a last race- a 20th- became their discard and they had to settle for the silver with 37 pts net.  Coming on strong in the last two races with a 4-3 was Henrik Lundberg’s Finish crew on ALMACO, finishing with 41 pts net.

Rounding out the top five were Anders Kemmler’s Swedish crew on DYNAMANT RACING in 4th and Jan Nilsson’s hometown Swedish crew on NN in 5th.  The top Norwegian boat was Eivind Astrup’s NORWEGIAN STEAM in 15th place.

A big “Thank You” to everyone in the HASS club that hosted and ran a great regatta! From the kitchen, to the secretary, and to the volunteers on the race track. Amazingly good work everyone!  Sailing photo credits- Daniel Stenholm  For more Swedish J/70 Nationals sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Moss SF Wins Norwegian J/70 Sailing League

(Moss, Norway)- For the Norwegian J/70 Sailing League finale, both the 1st and 2nd Divisions sailed over the course of an extended weekend of sailing.  At the end of the day, Moss SF won the 1st Division despite a poor performance in their fourth event in the series.  And, Risor SF ended up winning the 2nd Division by closing with a strong performance in the finale.

The 1st Division finale was not without its drama for the top two teams- Moss Sf and Asgardstrand SF.  Starting out the regatta, Moss SF had an enormous lead on the fleet.  However, by having one of their worst regattas of the season, their OCS in race 6 simply amplified the hard times they had to stay in hunt on their home waters! Their final result of 8th place was just sufficient enough for them to retain the overall series lead with a 1-1-2-8 for 12 pts. Taking second for the series was Asgardstrand SF with a 6-3-4-2 for 15 pts- a steady progression up the leaderboard. Then, RAN SF won the final regatta to jump on to the podium for the season series to secure the bronze with a 7-6-6-1 for 20 pts.  Notably, third in the Moss event was Grimstad SF, just one point behind Asgardstrand with 18 pts.

In the 2nd Division, Bundefjord SF put their stamp on the results in Moss, winning with five 1sts and three 2nds to win, incredibly enough by just one point!  A complete mirror of their results was posted by Risor Sf to conclude the regatta with 12 pts.  Third was Bodø SF with 16 pts, counting four 1sts in their totals.

For the season series in the 2nd Division, Risør SF wins the gold; the silver goes to Askøy SF and the bronze to Bundefjorden SF. Together with Hurum SF, these four clubs move to the 1st division in 2018.
Follow the Norwegian J/70 Sailing League on Facebook here  For more Norwegian J/70 Sailing League information.Add to Flipboard Magazine.

MOSS SF Leads J/70 Norway League!

(Larvik, Norway)- For the third event in the Norwegian J/70 Sailing League, there was much at stake for both Moss SF and KNS sailing clubs. Both had 1st and 2nd place overall for the series, respectively, to defend and to make sure they maintained their leads heading into the crucial finale in Moss, Norway over the September 7th to 9th weekend.

For this past weekend’s regatta, Moss SF managed to sail into a second place, thus securing their place in final event to be a contender. At this stage in the overall series, the Moss Sf team will have to sail incredibly badly in their home waters if they are to avoid taking the 2017 gold! They have a 9-point lead over Åsgårdstrand SF.

The KNS team did not have one of their better performances in the regatta series. The team sailed into a 13th place in Larvik and, thus, bring so many points into the final that it is in no way given that they fit into the finale in Moss.

As for the Larvik event itself, it was Arendal SF that dominated completely by winning 8 of the 11 flights!  Taking second was Åsgårdstrand SF with 13 pts and third was KNS with 17 pts.   Follow the J/70 Norwegian Sailing League on Facebook here   For more Norwegian J/70 Sailing League information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Arendals Wins Norwegian J/70 Sailing League- Act III

Moss Seilforening Leads Overall Series
(Larvik, Norway)- The first division of the Norwegian Sailing League sailed their third act at the picturesque seaside town of Larvik, at the base of one of Norway’s many gorgeous fjords.  After sailing just eleven races, is was the Arendals SF that easily won by virtue of winning 8 of their 11 races.

In behind them, a lot was at stake for the overall series lead between Moss SF and KNS (Kongelig Norsk Seilforening).  Both teams started the regatta in 1st and 2nd place for the series and both desperately wanted to defend their positions heading into the crucial final series being sailed at Moss on September 8th to 9th.  Moss managed to sail well and took 2nd in the Larvik event. Meanwhile, KNS had a disastrous time sailing in Larvik, virtually finishing last, taking a 13th place.

As a result of the weekend’s final standings, Moss SF continues to lead the overall series with a 1st in Oslo, 1st in Sandefjord, and a 2nd in Larvik for 4 pts total.  Jumping into second place for the series is Asgardstrand SF with a 6-3-4 record in the three venues for 13 pt total.  Dropping fast like a rock in the standings was KNS, now sitting with a series scoreline of 2-2-13 for 17 pts total.  Follow the Norwegian J/70 Sailing League on Facebook here.  For more Norwegian J/70 Sailing League information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Askoy SF Tops Norwegian J/70 Sailing League II

(Larvik, Norway)- The Second Division in the Norwegian J/70 Sailing League is having incredibly tight, hard fought racing for the top of the leaderboard in their overall series.  This past weekend in Larvik, Norway, yet another gorgeous seaside town in the Norwegian archipelago, the outcome of the regatta produced a huge change-over of the top teams.

For starters, Risør SF looked strong with two straight wins in the 2nd division in the first two regattas in Oslo and Sadefjord.  However, this past weekend, Askøy SF won the event in Larvik and leapt into the overall lead for the Division 2 series by just one point!

It was very even sailing during the weekend of racing in Larvik.  However, one team clearly distinguished themselves from the pack. Askøy SF won seven out of eleven flights to easily win the event.  Risør SF fought hard, but had to settle for a 6th place in Larvik, and thus dropped to 2nd place overall.

The fight behind Askøy SF was very close and nerve-racking. In the end, it was Bærum SF who took second place with 21 points and Bundefjord SF with 22 points to take third place.

As a result, the overall standings now sit with Askoy SF in first with 7 pts, Risor SF in second with 8 pts, Bundefjorden SF in third with 13 pts, Hurum Sf in 4th with 15 pts and Alesunds SF in 5th with 17 pts.  Follow the Norwegian J/70 Sailing League on Facebook  For more Norwegian J/70 Sailing League information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Astrup Crowned GRUNDIG J/70 Nordic Champion!

(Hanko, Norway)- Over the three-day weekend in Hanko, Norway, the Royal Norwegian YC (KNS) hosted the GRUNDIG J/70 Nordic Championship.  The racing took place just outside the island of Hankø and offered great course racing for the enthusiastic J/70 sailors. The island is located in the south-eastern part of Norway at the opening of the Oslo Fjord, not far from the Swedish border.  As anticipated, the fleet enjoyed good sea breezes from the southwest and generally good and fair sailing. The wind conditions were normally stable with no tidal problems.

The KNS cooperated with Hankø Yacht Club (HYC) to provide the J/70 teams with nine races over the three days!  It got windy enough that Team VISUAL ART RACING reported hitting their record speed yet of 21.2 kts in the big waves!  However, they were not fast enough to catch the train running away from them called NORWEGIAN STEAM.

In the end, after winning six of nine races, Eivind Astrup’s crew on STEAM walked off with their first GRUNDIG J/70 Nordic Championship with just 12 pts net.  Although fast, and very consistent (never finishing out of the top four in any race), the VISUAL ART RACING team took the silver after posting mainly 2nds and 3rds with 19 pts net. Rounding out the podium was SWE 713 TYRA with a total of 30 pts net.  Check out and follow the Norwegian J/70 class on Facebook.  For more GRUNDIG J/70 Nordic Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Moss Leads J/70 Norwegian Sailing League

(Sandefjord, Norway)- The Moss SF upgraded their tactician Karl-Einar Jensen to helmsman for this weekend and the move paid off big-time. The team clearly managed the change of roles for Moss Sailing Association and, once again, they delivered a win- so now it is two in a row for their sailing club.

The SEIL magazine's prediction that Mossingane is the year's favorites was further strengthened by this past weekend’s performance. They managed to start off with two bullets in the first two races, and then closed with four straight bullets to win with 14 pts.  However, their primary antagonist/protagonist was KNS (Kongelig Norsk Seilforening), pushing them hard all weekend long but not being able to overcome the consistent performance of Moss.  Meanwhile, they were both chased hard by Asgardstrand that also managed to win a few races, but could not overcome the high-level of consistency of the top two teams.

As a result, Moss is leading the series with a 1-1 tally for 2 pts.  Lying in second is KNS with 2-2 for 4 pts.  And, third is Brevik with a 3-4 for 7 pts.  The Norwegian sailing league now takes a break and starts again in late August.  Follow the Norwegian J/70 sailing league on Facebook here  For more Norwegian J/70 Sailing League information Add to Flipboard Magazine.