– It really gives young sailors a tough competition. It’s fun to watch, says Jean Olivier Kerr, head of the 8-meter World Cup events committee in Geneva, to NRK.
The 8-meter sailing world championships kicked off in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday this week.
During the week, participants made a total of nine trips – or stages – and it is the combined result that determines the position in this year’s WC.
Before today’s departures, King Harald, who is captain on board the ship “Sira”, and his crew were in 13th place. But after two good sails on Saturday, the king and his team finished in 10th place in the World Cup.
The victory of the World Championship went to the Swiss boat Yquem II.
King Harald is captain on board the “Sira” and sails with a crew of six other people.
Photo: Trond Reidar Teigen / NTB
– A very good and very enduring sailor
With today’s effort, King and his crew made it into the top ten on the results list.
Despite the result not quite living up to many of the King’s previous World Cup achievements, the 85-year-old Norwegian king has impressed the international sailing community and is garnering great recognition.
– It struck me that he has a strong competitive instinct. He’s not just here to have fun and have fun, he’s really here to compete with his crew. It’s impressive, especially considering his age, says Jean Olivier Kerr.
– He’s a serious contender, that’s for sure. I have a lot of respect for him as a very good and very tough sailor, says Werner Deuring, President of The International 8-meter Federation and also one of the king’s competitors in this championship, as captain of the Austrian boat “Pandora”.
I hope the king bets on another WC
King Harald, who turned 85 in February, has been training ahead of the World Cup while carrying out his duties and missions as King of Norway.
“Sira” in action in the toilets of Lake Geneva.
Photo: Kristi Marie Skrede / NRK
A leg operation a year and a half ago did not hamper the king’s participation in the World Cup either.
Now Deuring hopes the King, who previously became both world champion and European champion, will focus on the upcoming world championships.
– I have heard him say for the last ten years that “this will be my last year”, but so far he has continued and returned the following year. We all hope to see him also at next year’s WC in Genoa, Italy, Deuring told NRK.
WCs have been going on since Monday this week. On Saturday, King Harald and the rest of the WC participants sailed to the finish line.
Photo: Trond Reidar Teigen / NTB
Demanding conditions
A total of 24 boats from a total of eight countries took part in this year’s championship: Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Finland .
On Lake Geneva, the largest lake in Western Europe – more than one and a half times the size of Mjøsa – the teams competed against each other this week.
The lake is surrounded by high mountains. It is precisely this place that has created challenges, according to Tom Knutsen, who is the captain of “If”, the second Norwegian boat to participate in the WC.
Tom Knutsen, captain of the Norwegian boat “If”, describes difficult wind conditions in Geneva.
Photo: Kristi Marie Skrede / NRK
– It is “sailing on the lake”, as it is called, and there are some special things that we Norwegians probably don’t have much experience with. These are very specific conditions. There’s less wind, so a lot of the local boats are geared up and used to sailing in less wind, Knutsen says.
– Then you have the fact that we are located in a valley with high mountains on both sides, and there will be very choppy winds. There can be large wind holes where there is no wind. You strategize, then when conditions become as unfamiliar as they do here, you break away from it. This probably also applies to other foreigners.
“Si” finished in 14th place.
– Highly loved and highly respected internationally
Knutsen also praises the “King of Sailors” and believes King Harald has an important role in the sailing community.
– He is a very good sailor. Terribly good sailor, that is. This leader commands a lot of respect when it comes to sailing, I must say.
– What makes him a good sailor?
– He’s been sailing for a long time, and he’s very good with the weather and the wind and the clouds and all that. He reads things. Of course he has a good crew with him, we all do. But I think a lot rests on the king himself, says Knutsen.
King Harald thrives very well at sea and in the world of sailing, and there was nothing to say about the atmosphere in Geneva.
Photo: Trond Reidar Teigen / NTB
The King has been an active sailor for 75 years. Prince Harald, as he then was, was just ten years old when he first competed as a crew, according to Kongehuset.no.
King Harald started sailing early. Here he is with his mother, Crown Princess Märtha, in the summer of 1939, when the little prince was two and a half years old.
Photo: BNT
Today, the king is honorary president of the International Sailing Federation and also of the International 8-meter Federation.
According to the International 8 Meter Federation website, it is the highest honor that can be bestowed on someone who has made a special contribution to the sport.
There, the King is described as “without a doubt the most experienced 8-meter sailor in the world”.
– He is very well-liked and respected internationally, says Knutsen.
He too is impressed that King Harald, at the age of 85, is still sailing at a high level.
– He perseveres. He’s so competitive. It’s not an easy competitor to deal with, I can promise you that, says Knutsen.
– I have both sailed with him and competed against him, and there is nothing dear mother in the yard.
– I play the most and the best at the lake, said the king himself.
Photo: Trond Reidar Teigen / NTB
