| Sun set to shine on
royal Rolex Baltic Week. |
| By the Rolex Baltic
Week Media Team. |
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Photos by Daniel Forster
for Rolex,
edited By Peter Andrews. |
| June 25, 2011. |
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| GLÜCKSBURG, GERMANY. The weather gods seem aware of their responsibility when it comes to a royal event. Just in time for the opening of the eighth Rolex Baltic Week; which will see his Majesty King Harald V of Norway take the helm of the Sira, summer has arrived at Flensburg Fjord. With perfect weather and ideal easterly winds, the 46 crews from 15 nations have spent the past two days preparing for the big event in Glücksburg.
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Fred Meyer's
8mR Catina VI (1936) from
Vandoeuvre, Switzerland.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
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Twenty-five yachts in the 8-Metre class will sail from Wednesday, June 29th until Sunday, July 3rd, racing for the Robbe & Berking 8-Metre World Cup. Meanwhile, ten 12-Metre vessels have reported for their global championships and eleven 6-Metre crews are seeking to win the Robbe & Berking Sterling Cup.
The Rolex Baltic Week will officially open tonight in the newly renovated home of Flensburg Sailing Club on the idyllic harbour of Glücksburg. A total of nine races are scheduled from tomorrow, sailed each day from 12 o’clock. |
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Flensburger Segel-Club Dockside preperations.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
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Even as they have been training over the past few days, the Metre Yachts have made a fascinating spectacle on the waters between Denmark and Germany, heeling hard on the wind in the characteristic fashion of the narrow Metre designs in glittering sunlight; then a little later powering back to Glücksburg under bulging spinnakers with foaming water from each bow.
The 74-year-old King Harald V attended some training sessions with his 8-Metre yacht, driving the green Sira with sail number NOR 33. During the coming days at Rolex Baltic Week, he will be present not as a head of state but as a yachtsman among many other sailors. |
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HM King Harald V of Norway at a Rolex Baltic Week Press Conference.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
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| The King is perceived by the other crews as a great competitor because of his decades of racing experience. The Canadian Richard Self admits: "We look forward to the match with Sira." With his owner-partner Mark Decelles, Self has shipped two 8-Metre yachts to Europe. They will sail the 1938-built Raven themselves to compete against Sira of the same age, while their 24-year-old Gefion was chartered by Ronald Palm (USA). |
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Wilhelm Wagner's 8mR Edit (1911, H 3) from Bodman, Germany and Timo Saalasti's
8mR Sagitta (1912 FIN 2) from Espoo, Finland.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
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| Palm will have to compete in a fleet of four modern 8-Metre, including the Swiss Yquem II by Jean Fabre. "We’re here to win. Unfortunately, defending champion Aluette doesn’t take part but Lafayette as vice-world champion is a strong opponent. We are well prepared, have new sails and know the area, as we already have been here six years ago with the Yquem I," said Fabre, who won last year’s Euro Cup within the Rolex Baltic Week in Kiel. |
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The 8mR Fleet on Flensburger Fjord.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
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The modern 12-Metre yachts are not at the start in Flensburg, but the classic designs will enjoy some spectacular races for the class title. Wilfried Beeck from Kiel, owner and helmsman of Trivia, expects a battle for the lead with Anitra, Sphinx from Flensburg and the Danish Vanity V.
"It’s almost the same set-up like last year at Rolex Baltic Week. And after we won in 2010, we want to repeat the course here. We know we can be world champion. In 2008, we were runner-up and in 2007, we were at the top of the championships which were not then regarded as a World Cup, because one too few races were sailed," says Beeck. |
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Andi Lochbrunner's 8mR Elfe II (1912 GER H 9) from Lindau, Germany
and HM King Harald V of Norway's 8mR (1938 NOR 33) from Oslo, Norway.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
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Regardless of the outcome, Beeck is already impressed by the regatta’s calibre. "The Rolex Baltic Week is a great event, whether in Kiel or Flensburg. The ambience and atmosphere are unique."
For more information about the Rolex Baltic Week, visit the event website at www.rolex-baltic-week.com. |
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| Outimage and Rolex © 2011 |
