written by Toby Kamps on June 24 of 2024 and read by 359
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It's 6:30 pm on the deck of the Hanko Yacht Club. The sun is still high in the almost cloudless sky and everyone's squinting from its sharp sparkle. Measurement is almost completed across the channel in Vikane, and 31 boats are rafted up in front of the club with a few more getting ready to come over. Ribs are busy ferrying boats and people back and forth.
Sailors are catching up and making ready for tomorrow's practice race. Today a dozen or so boats headed out around the east side of the island into the open water of the Oslo Fjord to get a feel for the conditions and get skippers and crews back in the swing of Soling Racing.
Roman Koch/Alex Hasenclever/Max Bergk, Hanna Neumuller/Elena Strauch/Liselotte Idschwenler, and Simon Zeh/Jakob Zeh/Anton Dietzel tuned up together in the very light air that lightened up as you moved out of the narrow, island-filled channel into the Fjord. Crews sat on the low side and looked at forestay sag and wrinkles at the snaps. After the race, Roman held an impromptu coaching session with the young, all-women team from Austria.
The fleet of 37 boats is deep and diverse. Among the sailors from 11 countries are four skippers who participated in the Olympics in the Soling. One of them won the bronze medal in Sydney. The Norwegians are very strongly represented. In their number are a multi-world champion in different classes and the current Soling European champion. From the class itself, Farkas Litkey of Hungary has four world championships. (As a curiosity, Farkas with Karoly Vezer and Christoph Wossala will be gunning for his first win in a year ending with an even number.)
Tomorrow a practice race is set for 1400hs, the forecast is a southerly with 8 knots and with almost all boats in the water the race a perfect tune up for many who might be sailing for the first time in the year.
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