The X-Yachts Gold Cup Experience
by Mark Jardine 11 Jun 05:00 AEST
7-8 June 2025
X-Yachts Gold Cup Festival 2025 © Adam Cove /
www.covemarineconsulting.com
Having just returned from Haderslev, Denmark - which is the home of X-Yachts and played host to the X-Yachts Gold Cup 2025 - I was left wondering if this was a racing event, a rally or a social celebration amongst close friends. The reality is that it's all of these things, plus a bit more.
The event is now known as the 'Gold Cup Festival', and that additional word sums up nicely what it has become. This was a celebration of sailing, of X-Yachts and, most importantly of all, people.
During the opening evening barbecue, Kræn Nielsen, the CEO of X-Yachts, talked about FOMO (the Fear Of Missing Out) and how owner Søren Dolberg had sailed his XC45 'Solex' to Haderslev for the event. He had no interest in competing; he just wanted to be there to experience the event. The FOMO was too great for him to miss it.
The festival is a massive undertaking for the X-Yachts team. 64 boats and 450 guests from 13 nations, all hosted within their headquarters. Their workplace is transformed into an event centre with the fleet alongside in the marina, pushing the shore power to the max as kettles were switched on in the morning ahead of racing.
Haderslev is a few kilometres from the open water of Aarøsund, which means an hour's meander down the fjord is necessary, navigating the twists and turns of the main channel while taking in the picture postcard views of rolling fields, varied architecture and boat houses along the way.
This year I sailed on an X4.0 with Kevin Wallis, Sal Ridulfo and Ray Hudson - a combination of Britain, New Zealand and Australia - who came together as the 'Commonwealth Warriors' in the Family & Friends class.
Ray, who has completed five Sydney-Hobarts and took line honours in last year's Pittwater to Coffs Race, regularly races his Xp44 in Australia and owned an X-442 before that, while Sal has an IMX-40. We instantly hit it off as a crew, and quickly became firm friends, promising to look each other up when in our respective countries and sail together again. In fact the laughs on board may not have helped our overall position in the event, but frankly winning wasn't our primary objective: enjoyment most definitely was.
After a stunning spring in the UK and Scandinavia, the start of summer has been inclement, and we had the full range of conditions while racing, including heavy downpours and moments of sunshine, combined with light and shifting winds. Sailing is about controlling the controllables, and we certainly couldn't control the weather, but we weren't going to let a little rain dampen our spirits.
The big news over the past 12 months has been the launch of the XR 41, announcing X-Yachts return to the Grand Prix racing market, and the weekend saw four of the new yachts competing in Racing Class A. It was no surprise to see Jesper Radich and his team top this highly competitive fleet, which included professional teams from both Germany and Italy. Back in March when testing the XR 41, I very much got the impression that time on the water was essential to get the most out of the boat, and I'm sure the new teams will get faster and faster as they work out the modes which work best. Radich's Formula X team have had the most practice and have competed in, and won, the most events, yet I'm sure they're still only scratching the surface of what the yacht is capable of. The XR 41 is a rocketship when wound up, and has been clocking over 20 knots in racing, but is unlike anything we've seen before, so needs a bit of getting used to.
Torben Kornum, X-Yachts Global Market Manager, who I was fortunate enough to sail with in the 2023 Gold Cup and now count as a close friend, spoke during the Gala Dinner on Sunday night, and highlighted just what the event means to him. Camaraderie and common interest mean that friendships are quickly made on and off the water. The phrase 'sailing family' is often used, but is so applicable in this case. Torben, who has competed at the very highest level in windsurfing, is fiercely competitive, but recognises that it is the people who make experiences superb. This past weekend in Denmark was all about people. Happy people doing what they love.
Sadly the X-Yachts Gold Cup only occurs once every two years, and 2027 feels a long way away. As I've learned though as I get older, time does seem to fly by, and it won't be long until I'm enjoying the Danes' friendship and hospitality. The seeds of an idea were sown about holding more events like the Gold Cup in other European venues to bring this great community together, so we'll see how that develops in the meantime. Celebrations like this don't come together by magic, and a vast amount of time and hard work is put in behind the scenes to make it all come together, for which we are all very thankful.
For the Australian contingent, there isn't long to wait until the next installment of X-Yacht fun, with the Aurum Cup being held on 20th and 21st June at Middle Harbour Yacht Club, complete with passage race from Pittwater to Sydney on Friday, barbecue (naturally) and Gala Dinner on the Saturday night. For those who are not well versed in ancient languages, Aurum is the Latin for Gold, hence the name.
Sailing is a lifestyle choice and yacht manufacturers/brokers are becoming increasingly mindful of this. We need to sell the boating lifestyle, so more can enjoy time on the water, and events are a huge part of this.
The sailing industry isn't competing against other companies within the marine sector. Sailing itself is up against all the other ways that people spend their leisure time. To win this battle, sailing needs to be pleasurable, convenient, and all those who work in the industry need to be a joy to deal with - the experience needs to be first class. Get this right and sailing can thrive. From what I witnessed first-hand over the weekend, X-Yachts are very much on the right track.
Mark Jardine
Sail-World.com and YachtsandYachting.com Managing Editor