Inaugural Farr 40 Open Nordic Championship

by Dana Paxton on 5 Jul 2007
The inaugural Farr 40 Open Nordic Championship will take place July 5-8 at Hankø, Norway. Hosted by the Royal Norwegian Yacht Club (Kongelig Norsk Seilforening, KNS) with support from the Hankø Yacht Club and the Farr 40 European Fleet Association, the regatta is the third stop on the Farr 40 Class European Circuit.

The island of Hankø is located in the southeastern part of Norway at the Oslo Fjord, not far from the Swedish border. The race course is exposed to sea breezes from the southwest and generally offers very good and fair sailing.

A large international fleet of 28 Farr 40s representing eight countries has entered, 18 of which made the journey over by ship non stop from the Farr 40 European Championship at the Rolex Settimana delle Bocche in Italy.

Eivind Astrup (Oslo) owner of Norwegian Steam and a member of the regatta’s organizing committee explained how the idea to stage the Nordic Championship came about.

'HRH Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark suggested to our class president Jim Richardson that we organize the Worlds in Copenhagen,' said Astrup. 'Subsequently, HRH suggested to me that I organize a regatta at Hankø in Norway prior to the Worlds. Even though Norway gained independence from Denmark already in 1814, I decided to obey.'

Although the Farr 40 Class is known for its ultra-competitive racing, the social calendar planned during the Nordic Championship is equally spirited. After each day’s racing, the Hankø Yacht Club will offer refreshments and a daily prize giving.

The Scandinavian Sailing Federation will award its gold, silver and bronze medals to all crewmembers of the regatta’s overall winners. In addition to the Nordic Champion’s trophy, a trophy will go to the skipper of the top Scandinavian (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden) boat.

The Royal Norwegian Yacht Club (KNS) cooperates with the Hankø Yacht Club, a private club, which was founded in 1954 by senior members of KNS sailors aiming to promote international yacht racing at Hankø.

The club has its picturesque clubhouse and a protected harbor on the island a few hundred meters across from the mainland. Hankø Yacht Club celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2004.

Farr 40 Open Nordic Championship – Preliminary Entry List, 28 boats

1. Aleph Hughes Lepic FRA
2. Backbone Morten Lorenzen DEN
3. Balou Jens Erik Høst DEN
4. Barking Mad James Richardson USA
5. Calvi Carlo Alberini ITA
6. Enfant Terrible Gianluigi Serena ITA
7. Fiamma Allesandra Barnaba ITA
8. Flash Gordon Helmut Jahn USA
9. Groovederci Deneen Demourkas USA
10. Happy Happy Per Arne Nilsen NOR
11. Hooligan Marcus Blackmore AUS
12. Infinity John Thomson USA
13. Joe Fly Giovanni Maspero ITA
14. Kokomo Lang Walker AUS
15. Le Renard Steve Phillips USA
16. Mascalsone Latino Vincenzo Onorato ITA
17. Monick David Holm DEN
18. Monkey Class Ole van der Heide DEN
19. Nanoq HRH Prince Frederik DEN
20. Nerone Massimo Mezzaroma ITA
21. Ocean Warior Sverre Valeúr NOR
22. Norwegian Steam Eivind Astrup NOR
23. Opus One Wolfgang Stolz GER
24. Phish Food Alex Michas USA
25. Silver Bullet Henrik Jansen DEN
26. Siragusawa Olli-Pekka Lumijarvi FIN
27. Struntje Light Wolfgang Schaefer GER
28. Twins Eric Maris FRA

The Farr 40 Class will next compete at the Skaw Farr 40 Race Week (July12-14) in Skagen, Denmark and Rolex Baltic Week (Aug. 17-19) in Neustadt, Germany, followed by the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, August 29 – September 1.