A few brave sailors made it onto the water also on New Year’s Day. A good start of 2021 – the year when we all look forward to go racing, in Sweden and abroad.
New Year’s Day – 2021
Christmas day regatta – 2020
Eleven boats had indicated an interest to join our Christmas day morning regatta. Once in the harbour we found the boat covers white with frost from the overnight temperature drop. The main sheets needed some work before they would run freely and we could soon count ten OK and one laser dinghy on the slip and a handsome gathering of astounded spectators. Everyone were asking them selves, how cold will it be once on the water!
Last year on Boxing day, four brave sailors set sail on a misty morning! This year we can clearly say that we have started a tradition! Will we be able to double the number of participants next year?
Benjamin 
Thomas 
Håkan 
Patric 
Lars 
Benjamin 
Pontus 
Tomas 
Christian
As we left the harbour the bleak December sun was rising above the horizon and gave a faint sensation of warmth in the face, fingers still cold as they were gripping the cold lines. The wind came out the North / Northeast and the gate start got under way at the red marker in the direction of Elsinore castle. The red navigation marker south of the Viken pier served as top mark, with a large crowd gathered on land.
Back on land after almost three hours of sailing and five good races, all agreed that we had picked the best day! Or did the day pick us? We concluded that we could have stayed out longer but other duties were lining up! No one commented about it being cold and everyone looked forward to the next time we can go sailing!
A special and warm welcome to Otto, who dramatically impacted the average age of the sailors on this day. We hope to see many more sailor of all ages join us in Viken.
The winner takes it all
Patric Mure was presented with the price for placing first. The 1/2 model was built and donated by our patron Christer Malmström. Big congratulations to Patric and big thanks to Christer from all the sailors and spectators on this beautiful Christmas day.
Photos taken by Per Lindvall and Sara Gäbel
2020 Kieler Woche
Finally, on the road again! It’s not a statement that you had expected from sailors but after being refrained from racing a whole season it’s a nice feeling to be on the move.
Kieler Woche was the first “real” regatta where the OK sailors from Viken manage to end up above the Covid-19 cut of participants. 50 boats was the maximum at this event, not because of the social distancing on the water but the space available on land! In total we were 6 Swedish boats that made it all the way to Kiel. The organisers were meticulous in their preparations. We all had to fill out forms and read instructions on what to keep in mind before, during and after the event. Needless to say, nothing was left unaddressed by the organiser and face mask were up from entering the gates until the boats were afloat. Once registered we had a badge giving access to the race area, a Covid-19 GPS bracelet tracking all our whereabouts and an arm band to check in and out when leaving the slip to go racing.
Day 1 – Thursday
Planned start of racing on day 1 was 13:00. With 5-6 nm of sailing before reaching race area KILO the organiser sounded the horn which signal that it was our time to launch at about 11:00. The sun was shining and the winds were beginning to build. As we were sailing towards the Kieler Bucht light house on the horizon the wind increased to a nice and steady breeze of about 10-15 knots. As the wind came over land it was a bit nervous with shifts and varying strength which would cater for competitive racing. We were sharing the race area with the Finns and they started ahead of us. After a few general recalls the regatta was finally under way!
Sailing was competitive and close. Mads Bendix was the leader at the end of day 1 with two firsts and a second. Best placing Swedes were Thomas and Benjamin.
Thomas SWE100 
Patric SWE2871 
Benjamin SWE72 
Mats SWE15 
Pontus SWE101 
Stefan SWE722
Day 2 – Friday
The second day of racing started very much like day 1. Calm winds in the harbour and a nice warmth when the sun broke through the clouds. The flag on shore indicated that we would race on area KILO again. The routine was the same with the difference that the first start was scheduled for 12.00. Also this day the wind can from the SW and gradually increased as we sailed out to the race area. When the start sequenced commenced the wind had reached a steady 20 knots and three races were scheduled. A few boats decided to call it the day already before first start while other left to sail towards the harbour after a race or two. By 14 – 14:30 the wind had stabilise at 22-24 knots with gusts of 28 knots.
Mads Bendix once again showed his skills and proved that the day 1 results was by no means a coincidence. He repeated day 1 and scored two firsts and a second. The best performing Swedes were Thomas and Patric.
Day 3 – Saturday
With winds forecasted to stay in the range of 20-30 knots we knew racing would be tough. The start was scheduled for 11:00 and with the precision we had gotten used to the signal to launch was sounded and we all got under way. That is, a few had already decided to stay on shore and save the body from getting beat up again. The sail to race area KILO was swifter than the previous days as the wind had increased earlier than the two previous days. The Finns started before the OK fleet and got a clear to go at their first attempt. Our start followed without hesitation and what would later become the last day of racing was under way. By the end of the day most boats including some of the top scoring boats had ended up capsized. The heavy wind took its toll and a few of us decided to head for shore before the last race. The high and gusty winds didn’t allow for any relaxation and the race towards the harbour for dry clothes and food proved as challenging as the racing in it self.
Bo Petersen was the winner of the day, scoring a first and a second, in the heavy winds. Best Swedes were were once again Thomas and Patric.
Day 4 – Sunday
After three days off tough racing and even more wind expected on day 4 an unanimous decision to end the regatta after 8 great races was taken. A few of the top placing sailors started packing up and everyone followed suit. There was no Day 4 in this year’s Kieler Woche! Mads Bendix was the winner, followed by André Budzien and Thomas Hansson-Mild placing third.
The organisation of Kieler Woche is impeccable and its a regatta that every sailor with ambitions need to have take part in. Next time we all line up at the start we hope that the Covid-19 pandemic is something in the past and more sailor have the possibility to go racing and experience the great camaraderie in the OK dinghy class.
Auf wiedersehen Kiel!
We did not make the cut to sail DM, so we put together our own VM
In these Covid-19 times there are restrictions on number of participants in a sports event as we are all well aware of. Some of the OKViken sailors had planned to join the Danish Championships (DM) but when the numbers of participants allowed still remain below 100 we all missed out. To get back on the water and race we created our own VM – “Viken Mästerskap” aka the “Viken Worlds”.
The one day racing took place on August 15 in light winds and blazing sun. We managed 5 tight races with lots of actions on the water.
Even if the racing was thight, Benjamin managed to score four 1:st when discarding one and Thomas had the most persistent performance with five 2:nd places. A special welcome to Håkan, the latest addition to the OK fleet in Viken. The total results:
1 – Benjamin Hammerö
2 – Tomas Franzén
3 – Christian Schaarup
4 – Håkan Söderberg
5 – Pontus Gäbel
6 – Pelle Wejmenhög
7 – Per Thorin
8 – Thomas Uziel
9 – Jonas Jemt
10 – Oliver Uziel (who unfortunately had to retire due to equipment failure)
We would like to thank all the volunteers that made it all happen! We were supported by a small and dedicated crew. Joachim Hammerö and Kristian Resvik ran the start and finishing with great precision. Master of ceremony, Stefan Edefäll was also in charge of the course while Anders Bjurö took amazing photos!
See you on the water soon again!
A new OK dinghy en route to Viken
Racing in Solröd Denmark
August 1, 2020
Three sailors made it across the Öresund bridge for a one day regatta in Solröd, south of Copenhagen. Boats were launched from the beach and racing took place only a few hundered meters away from the shore. The shallow water and wind reaching 6-7m/s provided best possible racing conditions with challenging chop upwind and good surf downwind. The race course was a classic Neapel and the reaching element was a welcome return for many of us.
The local sailing club, Solröd Strand Sejlklub, did an excellent job keeping up the pace and catering for tight racing. As most of us were eager to get away in one of the first opportunities to race this year, there were a few restart and back flag. For some of us it proved disastrous, but great learning!
Packed up and ready to go!
July 31, 2020
Next on the water training
We plan to sail on Friday July 31 @ 10:00. Two marker course and gate start. Weather forecast looks favourable DMI.dk
Successful OK weekend in Viken – July 18-19
The latest OK fleet in Sweden arranged a weekend of sailing amid the Covid-19 pandemics. A day of racing arranged by WBS on Saturday and a training camp with a gate start and a simple two mark course on Sunday.
4 boats joined from the west coast joined the 7 locals. Three races were sailed under clear blue skies and moderate southerly winds. Thomas H-M won all three races tightly followed by the locals Benjamin Hammerö and Christian Scharup.
On Sunday the sailing continued with more tight racing. The short distance from launching the boat until race start catered for maximum amount of time on the water to polish the skills. Once on shore everyone concluded that it was a successful weekend!
Big thanks to WBS (Vikens Båtselskap) for arranging the race and to our friends from the west coast for driving down!
Evening training
Patric Mure joins with his new Ovington and is fast from day one
