Hankø, Norway (July 3, 2007) – The inaugural Farr 40 Open Nordic Championship will take place July 5-8 at Hankø, Norway. Hosted by the Royal Norwegian Yacht Club (Kongelig Norsk Seilforening, KNS) with support from the Hankø Yacht Club and the Farr 40 European Fleet Association, the regatta is the third stop on the Farr 40 Class European Circuit. The island of Hankø is located in the southeastern part of Norway at the Oslo Fjord, not far from the Swedish border. The race course is exposed to sea breezes from the southwest and generally offers very good and fair sailing. A large international fleet of 28 Farr 40s representing eight countries has entered, 18 of which made the journey over by ship non stop from the Farr 40 European Championship at the Rolex Settimana delle Bocche in Italy.

Eivind Astrup (Oslo) owner of Norwegian Steam and a member of the regatta’s organizing committee explained how the idea to stage the Nordic Championship came about. “HRH Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark suggested to our class president Jim Richardson that we organize the Worlds in Copenhagen,” said Astrup. “Subsequently, HRH suggested to me that I organize a regatta at Hankø in Norway prior to the Worlds. Even though Norway gained independence from Denmark already in 1814, I decided to obey.”

Although the Farr 40 Class is known for its ultra-competitive racing, the social calendar planned during the Nordic Championship is equally spirited. After each day’s racing, the Hankø Yacht Club will offer refreshments and a daily prize giving. The Scandinavian Sailing Federation will award its gold, silver and bronze medals to all crewmembers of the regatta’s overall winners. In addition to the Nordic Champion’s trophy, a trophy will go to the skipper of the top Scandinavian (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden) boat.

The Royal Norwegian Yacht Club (KNS) cooperates with the Hankø Yacht Club, a private club, which was founded in 1954 by senior members of KNS sailors aiming to promote international yacht racing at Hankø. The club has its picturesque clubhouse and a protected harbor on the island a few hundred meters across from the mainland. Hankø Yacht Club celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2004.

The Farr 40 Class will next compete at the Skaw Farr 40 Race Week (July12-14) in Skagen, Denmark and Rolex Baltic Week (Aug. 17-19) in Neustadt, Germany, followed by the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, August 29 – September 1.

For more information about the Farr 40 Open Nordic Championship, please visit http://www.kns.no/Norsk/REGATTA/NOM_Farr_40/Information.

For a complete schedule of 2007/08 Farr 40 Class events or for more information about the Class, please visit www.farr40.org.

About the Royal Norwegian Yacht Club A long tradition in organizing regattas at Hankø began with the first regatta in 1906. More than 100 boats participate in the annual regatta, Hankø Race Week. In 2003 KNS organized the 5.5mR Gold Cup and the European Championship at Hankø and for the past two years it has organized the Norwegian Championship for the IMS class with up to 30 boats participating. In August the IMS World Championship will be organize at Hankø. In 2008 KNS will celebrate its 125th anniversary. In order to mark the anniversary, the 8mR World Championship at Hankø and the Dragon European Championship in Oslo, the capital of Norway where KNS has its home base, are planned.

Press Contacts: (in Hankø) Bunny Wayt, Farr 40 Class Secretary, mobile: +1 443 926 6159, \n bunny@staggyachts.com This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
(in the U.S.) Dana Paxton, Media Pro Int’l for Farr 40 Class, +1 401-849-0220, \n dana.paxton@mediapronewport.com This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Farr 40 Open Nordic Championship – Preliminary Entry List, 28 boats

NAME OWNER COUNTRY

1. Aleph Hughes Lepic FRA

2. Backbone Morten Lorenzen DEN

3. Balou Jens Erik Høst DEN

4. Barking Mad James Richardson USA

5. Calvi Carlo Alberini ITA

6. Enfant Terrible Gianluigi Serena ITA

7. Fiamma Alessandro Barnaba ITA

8. Flash Gordon Helmut Jahn USA

9. Groovederci Deneen Demourkas USA

10. Happy Happy Per Arne Nilsen NOR

11. Hooligan Marcus Blackmore AUS

12. Infinity John Thomson USA

13. Joe Fly Giovanni Maspero ITA
14. Kokomo Lang Walker AUS
15. Le Renard Steve Phillips USA

16. Mascalsone Latino Vincenzo Onorato ITA

17. Monick David Holm DEN

18. Monkey Class Ole van der Heide DEN

19. Nanoq HRH Prince Frederik DEN

20. Nerone Massimo Mezzaroma ITA

21. Ocean Warior Sverre Valeúr NOR

22. Norwegian Steam Eivind Astrup NOR

23. Opus One Wolfgang Stolz GER
24. Phish Food Alex Michas USA

25. Silver Bullet Henrik Jansen DEN

26. Siragusawa Olli-Pekka Lumijarvi FIN

27. Struntje Light Wolfgang Schaefer GER
28. Twins Eric Maris FRA

FARR 40 OPEN NORDIC CHAMPIONSHIP – Schedule of Events
Hankø , Norway

Date Time Activity
2 July 1100- 1700 Measurement Service available at Hankø Yacht Club
All day Informal gathering at HYC

3 July 0900 Race Office opens
1000 - 1800 Registration and measurements
1200 - 1700 Informal practice races as may be possible.
All day informal gathering at HYC

4 July 0900 Race Office opens
1000 - 1600 Registration and measurements
1400 Tune-up race
1800 Skippers' Briefing at HYC
1830 - 1930 Opening Reception at HYC

5 July 0800 Race Office opens
1200 Racing - max 3 races planned
Informal After-sail at HYC

6 July 0900 Race Office opens
1200 Racing - max 3 races planned

7 July 0900 Race Office opens
1200 Racing - max 3 races planned

8 July 0900 Race Office opens

1200 Racing - max 2 races planned

Price Giving Ceremony at HYC following racing

Hanko - 04 July 2007 09:39