From Lars Linder, SWE F18 Chair
The Swedish Championship in Stockholm last weekend attracted 12 teams from 6 clubs from all around Sweden. That is fewer teams than usual this unusual year, but with most of the top teams represented. The regatta was 8 races during 2 days.
Day one. The air was chilly and the rain kept pouring and winds ranged from 10 to 20 knots, quite puffy and tricky to sail. Fredrik Karlsson & Niklas Nordblom are in top shape and won all 5 races the first day one, not without a fight but still! Lars Linder & Erik Brunnberg also had a good day with several 2nd places. They were tightly chased by youngsters Max Linder (20) & Niklas Forhaug (19) who made a great come back after a long break due to military service. After the races the sailors had a regatta dinner in a nearby restaurant.
Day two. The sun finally arrived and with it some pretty strong winds. All boats went our to the starting area, but without even trying to hoist their gennakers. Until the youngest team Edvin Åberg (18) and Erik Wahlberg (16) decided to test the kite and capsized in the first gybe. After a while the Race Officer decided to postpone the start and all teams when back to the docks to wait for the wind to ease a bit. And it did, just in time to get the final 3 races in! In the very puffy winds between 15 to 28 knots of wind it was between perfect and survival mode. Most teams capsized at least once. The very long half wind at the spreader mark was an adventure at times and the angles in the gybes were very steep.
In the end Karlsson & Nordblom won clearly, despite some capsizes and poor results day two that they could discard. Linder & Forhaug got the silver sailing consistent with one win and a fourth as their worst result accounted for. After excellent sailing the more the wind increased, Jakob Palmblad and Oscar Wetterling got the bronze.
The race office did a great job to get 8 fair and fun races in during sometime tough conditions. The sailors had a great regatta and it was good to see some new teams entering the F18 community. Two regattas remains in Sweden, including the renowned “Raid Noir” on the 17th to 18th of October. That is something to look forward to.