18 September 2020
The
Shorthanded-NM, Norway’s championship in shorthanded sailing, will
this weekend be the season's largest championship event by far. It
brings together more sailors than all the one-man dinghy events
combined, with a total of 24 medals to be awarded. As many as 95
teams will find their way to Steilene in the Inner Oslofjord this
weekend where the Nesodden Sailing Association will be host.
Regatta-hungry sailors have gone from house to house to participate,
and the large participation has meant that the championship will be
divided into four instead of three classes so four sets of NM medals
will be awarded on Sunday afternoon 20 September.
The ordinary shorthanded boats will be divided into three classes:
A, B and C. In addition, there is a separate class for boats that
are defined as sports boats by the ORC rule - with some adaptations.
Many sailors who are high up on SEILmagasinet's shorthanded ranking
list will face competition from a large number of sailors who are
usually seen on track races in other classes. Shorthanded-NM will
contain a wonderful mix of different sailing expertise and
experience, and everything is ready for a big on-water sailing
party.
The biggest threat to this party will be a shiny Oslofjord, and the
weather forecast for the weekend so far suggests light winds.
Delaying the championship as far as possible on Sunday afternoon
may, as of today, seem to be a lifeline. Then it should be mostly
windy, according to the forecast. The championship consists of two
or more distance races, each lasting a duration of 4-5 hours. If
only one race is completed, the championship will not be valid - and
the medals must remain in the drawer.
It is difficult - if not impossible - to point out some clear
favorites in the crowd of good sailors. In a respite regatta,
conditions and boat types will always play a role alongside the
sailors' own achievements. In the shorthanded NM, there can
therefore be many surprises. Brand new in the shorthanded context is
the sports boat class. ORC defines sports boats as being between 6
and 9.15 meters long and weigh less than 2000 kilos. In the NM,
however, the term sports boat has been expanded somewhat, and the
class includes a wide range of boat types. In addition to typical
sports boats such as Melges 24, J/70 and Fareast 28, the class also
embraces boats such as Express, RS Elite and 11-meter. It is not
often that these boats sail against each other on handicap, so it
can be an exciting exercise that can hit many roads as the
conditions will probably decide whether more of the boats will plan
to attend or not. It helps to influence how they will be able to
sail up to the target number they have.
Shorthanded-NM will be sailing on fixed courses across the Inner
Oslofjord, and Nesodden Sailing Association has set up five
different course alternatives. The length varies from 13 to 29
nautical miles. The weather forecast taken into account will
probably be the shortest alternatives most relevant.
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