Nilson and Peyron take on the Nokia Oops Cup

Orange II skipper and navigator to race trimarans on the ambitious and ever growing Baltic circuit

2005’s Nokia Oops Cup, the Nordic-Baltic yachting race, is shaping up to be more spectacular then ever before, with the cream of the racing world lining up at the start. One of the world’s most successful skippers of multi-hulled boats, Frenchman Bruno Peyron, and his Swedish navigator, Roger Nilson, head the Stena Sovcomflot Sailing Team 2005 in their new boat, a 60 foot trimaran.

This year sees the fourth running of the Nokia Oops Cup, one of the most exciting demonstrations of extreme racing in the world. The fleet of 60ft trimarans races off the centre of some of the Nordic and Baltic regions’ largest cities, including Stockholm and St. Petersburg. The series starts in Helsinki at the end of May.

"We have developed a very good boat and are looking forward to giving the other competitors a real fight. Our skipper, Bruno Peyron, is regarded as one of the world’s best yachtsmen on this type of boat," says Roger Nilson, the Stena-Sovcomflot navigator.

Sailing this type of lightweight boat can have terminal consequences coming to a very abrupt end if the skipper and his crew doesn’t know when it is time to hold back. The difficulty lies not only in pushing the boats to their limit, but in slowing them down and doing so in time. The boat’s limits can be exceeded very suddenly, and when that happens, they can capsize.

"You can always push a boat hard in a strong wind, but the person who wins is, in my experience, the one who best knows when it’s time to hold back. Bruno is brilliant at doing this at precisely the right moment," says Nilson, who has crewed for Bruno Peyron several times over the years.

Peyron and Nilson were the skipper and navigator, respectively, of the giant catamaran, Orange II, which recently broke a sensational speed record for sailing non-stop around the world. They crossed the finishing line in Brest on 16 March this year, a mere 50 days after the starting gun was fired in the same location, with more than a week to spare over the old record. Proof, if ever it was needed, of their outstanding ability and skill in sailing multi-hulled boats.

"As with all shipping, it's the crew that makes the difference. I’m absolutely delighted that we’ve got such a competent crew to challenge the other competitors in what I regard as the most exciting and extreme event in the sailing world. This project makes our focus on shipping in the Baltic clearer than ever," says Ulf Ryder, President and CEO of Stena Bulk.

The project is collaboration between Stena Bulk and its partner, Sovcomflot, Russia’s leading tanker shipping company. The two companies recently concluded a partnership agreement that has now been further strengthened by their joint involvement in this racing yacht.

In addition to Bruno Peyron and Roger Nilson, the Stena Sovcomflot Sailing Team 2005 comprises French 60ft trimaran skipper Steve Ravussin and Pierre Yves Moreau, and Swedes Linus Netshagen and Per Jonsson - all highly qualified racing yachtsmen with considerable experience of sailing multi-hulled boats.

Racing starts in Helsinki on 21 and 22 May, continues in Stockholm on 28 and 29 May, before moving to Gothenburg on 6 June and Oslo on 9 and 12 June. The Faerder Race will also be held off Oslo on 10 June, followed by Sjælland Rundt on 17-18 June and then a race in Copenhagen on 20 June. After taking part in the Gotland Runt race on 3 and 4 July, the next competition, Sandhamn to Sopot in Poland, starts 6 July. The Sopot City Race is on 10 July with Sopot-St Petersburg race on 12 July while the cup finishes in St Petersburg with a speed race on 16 July.

"We can see huge potential in Stena Sovcomflot Sailing Team 2005, both as a marketing tool and as a means of involving staff and clients throughout the region in question. Technical sophistication, safety and speed are factors for success that we share with the modern sport of yacht racing," concludes Ulf Ryder.