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The popular
summer destination in southern Norway hosted the UIM Offshore European
Championships for the 3B, 3C and 3J classes last weekend, organized by the Tvedestrand Racingklubb in a standalone event format.
Following
several last-minute registrations, a total of 25 boats and 50 competitors
across the three categories took the start of Friday's short race and
Saturday's long race. Both races took competitors through the Norwegian fjord
and out into the open waters of the Skagerrak Strait.
The
open-cockpit 3B class featured a strong field of nine boats competing for the
European title. After Race 1, 2021 European Champions Rasmus Hamrén and
Madeleine Samuelsson of Sweden led the standings ahead of the all-girls
Norwegian crew of Oline Nordli and Andrine Goderstad, with defending World
Champions Lovisa Sahlén and Mattias Lind in third place. A fourth-place finish
in Race 2 was enough for Hamrén and Samuelsson to secure their second European
title, while Adam Wrenkler and his sister Mathilda, together with Max
Samuelsson and Joel Sehgneberg, finished first and second respectively in Race
2 after failing to finish the opening race.
The
enclosed-cockpit 3C class was equally competitive, with nine boats on the
starting grid. A thrilling duel developed between the Norwegian crew of Jan
Trygve Braaten and Svein Arne Uppstad and the Swedish pairing of William
Söderlind and Jonatan Rindar. Braaten and Uppstad claimed victory in Race 1
ahead of Söderlind and Rindar, and the Swedes were in turn leading Race 2 when
the Norwegian C-10 boat capsized, ending Braaten and Uppstad's hopes of
securing the European title. Söderlind and Rindar went on to win both Race 2
and the Championship, while the unfortunate Braaten and Uppstad finished fourth overall. Andreas Engström and Love Kumlin from Sweden secured second place in
the overall standings, Kasper Hidle Nising and Felix Frøytlog finished third.
In the
entry-level 3J class, featuring open-cockpit boats powered by Mercury 60 EFI or
Mercury 60 APX engines, six teams took the start of the two races. Race 1 was
won by the J-10 crew of Sigurd Uppstad, the 2024 World Champion in the
category, who this time teamed up with Frida Uberg Sandvik. Vegard Eriksen
Malmgreen and Celine Dalen finished second, before the positions were reversed
in Race 2, with Eriksen Malmgreen and Dalen taking victory. Under UIM rules,
when crews are tied on points after all races have been completed, the winner
of the longer race is awarded the Championship. Thanks to their victory in Race
2, Vegard Eriksen Malmgreen and co-pilot Celine Dalen secured their first
European title, while fellow Norwegians Eirik Leikvagen Jøstensen and Anniken
Ager-Wick completed the overall podium in third.
Photos:
Joakim Carlström
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