Nokia Oops Cup 2006, Formula 1 of Sailing preview

by Event Media on 31 May 2006 Nokia Oops Cup 2006 - Nordic international match with the world’s fastest sailboats, Stockholm 2006

The toughest sail racing competition in northern Europe will be an international match between Norway, Sweden and Finland, and three of the world’s leading offshore racers.

The Speed Races has got a new concept this year, as they now fight in a sailing duel in the centre of the cities.

Nokia Oops Cup starts in Oslo June 6 and will compete in Gothenburg, Stockholm, Helsinki, Malmö, Copenhagen and finally finish in Kiel August 19. The cup includes both spectator friendly City Races and several days long Offshore Races.

At the helms of the advanced 60 feet trimarans Nokia Academy, HiQ and TietoEnator Audi, stand three of the Nordic countries’ most skilled and experienced offshore race skippers; Knut Frostad, Norway, Klas 'Klabbe' Nylöf, Sweden, and Thomas Johanson, Finland. They have all got several victories and international sailing merits. Together with their hot crews, they are part of the exclusive group of international racers, who can master these spectacular Formula 60 trimarans.

The trimarans are called the Formula 1 of sailing, as they are some of the fastest sailboats in the world. It demands experienced and skilled skippers and extraordinary capable crews to sail the 18 meter long and 16 meter wide racing machines. The speeds are breath-taking for being sailboats. Last year the winner Stena Sovcomflot made speeds over 40 knots, and in relatively normal wind conditions, a Nokia Oops Cup trimaran logs between 20 and 35 knots.

'You always sail on the edge, if you cross that thin line, the boat will capsize', Knut explains.

Knut won the cup in 2004, when he also beat a speed record for multihulls in Gotland Runt. Last year he finished at second place in the Nokia Oops Cup.
The world’s fastest sail racing boats, in combination with spectator friendliness, were basic ideas of Nokia Oops Cup. It was founded in 2001 by Atlant Ocean Racing, together with local yacht clubs in Scandinavia.

Nokia Oops Cup with its big Formula 60 trimarans is one of the most spectacular events that can be seen. The cup is also the absolutely fastest sail racing competition in Scandinavia.

Nokia Oops Cup is unique, as these extreme sailboats perform in the centre of the cities. Tens of thousands of people can watch the Formula 60 trimarans in speed duels and dramatic fleet sail racing, as they pass by the quays in speeds up to or over 30 knots, just a few meters away.
The competition consists of three parts. One consist of the decisive Offshore Races for one or several days, among them Eurocard Gotland Runt the July 2. The other two are both parts of the City Races, the Fleet Race and the Speed Race.

A new concept for 2006 is the form of the Speed Races. The trimarans will meat each other in high speed duels between two buoys, leading up to selecting a winner from a final and the boat with the best time, crossing the finish line, right in front of fascinated spectators.
– Sail racing is normally hard to follow for a sailing interested audience, as the contests mostly are out on the water. We want to show the world’s most powerful sailboats where people can see them; in the cities. It’s a fantastic experience to watch the trimarans sail by the dock in high speeds and in fights with other trimarans. Everything in a distance of ajust few meters, says Project Manager for Nokia Oops Cup, Björn Swedin.

In addition but out of Nokia Oops Cup competition, the very popular ProAm-races will be arranged in each city. but nevertheless exciting. The crews are composed of four professional trimaran sailors and ten amateur sailors, mostly sailing interested representatives from sponsors, trade and industry, media and the entertainment world at each local place.

The winner in the international match Nokia Oops Cup 2006 is the boat, the skipper and the crew that has got the best total result from all the contests.

The sailing world is anxious to appoint the fastest sailor in Scandinavia. Who will win? Knut Frostad, Team Nokia Academy, Klabbe Nylöf, HiQ Sailing Team, or Thomas Johanson, Team TietoEnator Audi?

'We’ve got a great team, a really fast boat, which we have learned to master, and we have bought entirely new sails for this year – we are loaded all the way up to the top of the mast, just to win the international sail racing match of the year', says Sweden’s Klabbe Nylöf, the skipper of HiQ.

'Our ambition is to win Nokia Oops Cup 2006, but not just that, we’re going to try to beat the speed record at 43 knots, from last year', says Knut Frostad, skipper onboard the Nokia Academy, Norway.

'This year we’ve got all the conditions to win, a new and extremely fast boat, a fantastic team, and good sponsors. We’re well prepared and we’re aiming at the victory', says the skipper of TietoEnator Audi, Thomas Johanson, Finland.

Follow the toughest sail racing of the year at www.nokiaoopscup.com.