Tomorrow marks the start of the ORC International European Championship here in this picturesque town at the southern end of Sweden, where at the Ystad Segelsallskapp (YSS) 23 entries from 4 countries are on hand to compete for the title crown in both Open and Corinthian divisions. Ranging from 33 to 43 feet in length, entries in this fleet vary from dual-purpose cruiser/racers to more purpose-built racers, but all will be rated and scored using the ORC International rule.
The racing programme is somewhat unusual in its strong emphasis on offshore performance: at 1100 CET the fleet will set off on the first race of the programme, a short offshore race to be held on a course on the Baltic Sea to be posted just prior to the start. Then after finishing in the late afternoon, at 1900 the fleet will then set off on another longer offshore race due to finish sometime on Thursday.
Then on Friday and Saturday the emphasis shifts to testing the entries on their inshore prowess, as the fleet will be competing in seven inshore races planned for both days before a final awards ceremony on Saturday evening.
Some teams to watch include some past champions in both this event and other high-profile handicap events in the region such as the Eurocard Gotland Runt. These include 2007 World Champion Christian Plump (GER) and his Beluga Sailing Team on his Rodman 42; another past World Champion, Johann Friedrchsen (GER) and his X-332 Chinook; Jani Lehti’s (FIN) successful Grand Soleil 42R Lexus; and Ralf Aspholm’s (SWE) perennial Gotland Runt champion DataCom, a Sinergia 40 from KSSS in Sandhamn.
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