The russian/swedish Stena Sovcomflot Sailing Team 2005 won this week-ends racing in Helsinki. The Speed Race on Saturday and City Course Race on Sunday were also the opening races of this year Nokia Oops Cup for 60-foot trimarans, which is made up of 16 races and six participating teams.
The trimaran Stena-Sovcomflot was the fastest boat during Saturdays Speed Race. Today’s sailings were dramatic with penalties, collisions and very tight racing. Helsinki offered light winds and beautiful sunshine during the four completed course races. Stena-Sovcomflot finished third/first/second/third. The competitors HiQ had the same score but as the Stena-Sovcomflot was the winner of the earlier Speed Race she grabbed the overall victory.
- We are of course very happy, this is indeed a great start for us, said Roger Nilson, Navigator on Stena-Sovcomflot. We had a few bad starts but once we got going the crew performed very well and the ship was very fast.
In addition to Roger Nilson, the Stena Sovcomflot Sailing Team 2005 in Helsinki comprised of, among others, Frenchmen Steve Ravussin as race skipper and Pierre Pennec as tactician. Bruno Peyron will join the Stena Sovcomflot Sailing Team in Gothenburg.
Today’s last race was also the most dramatic. Knut Frostads Academy and Tieto Enator collided during the start. Both ships had to go to shore and will need repair work before sailing to Sweden. The racing now continues in Stockholm on 28th and 29th May, before moving to Gothenburg on 6th June and Oslo on 9th and 12th June. The Faerder Race will also be held off Oslo on 10th June, followed by Sjælland Rundt on 17-18th June and then a city race in Copenhagen on 20th June. After taking part in the Gotland Runt race on 3rd and 4th July, the next competition, Doubel handed Race Sandhamn to Sopot in Poland, start 6th July. Sopot City Race 10th July, Sopot – St Petersburg 12th July and the cup finishes in St Petersburg with a speed race on 16 July.
Total standings after Helsinki: 1) Stena Sovcomflot, Sweden/Russia, 2) HiQ, Sweden, 3) Nokia, Sweden, 4) Academy, Norway, 5) TietoEnator, Finland, 6) Bonduelle, Poland.
The Stena Sovcomflot Sailing team 2005 is collaboration between Stena Bulk, Sovcomflot, Russia’s leading tanker shipping company and Concordia Maritime. The companies will together develop the B-MAX supertanker that will revolutionize crude oil transportation out of the Baltic region.
For further information:
www.nokiaoopscup.com
www.stenasovcomflot.com
Roger Nilson
Stena Sovcomflot Sailing Team 2005
+46 707 97 98 01
roger.nilson@canit.se