New IMS championship

Series announced uniting top regattas around the Baltic and Norway reports Jon Amtrup

In a smart move all the major IMS regattas in Northern Europe have joined forces to form an overall IMS championship for the Baltic countries including Norway. The ranking series has HSH Nordbank as their major sponsor and TV coverage.

"We expect top class racing in close proximity of the coast line," says Eckhard von der Mosel, coordinator of the championship and organiser for the final races. "The racing will be broadcasted daily by Danish television TV2."

The Volvo Suursari Race in Espoo, Finland in June 2006 will kick start the brand new HSH Nordbank blue championship. Finals will be sailed just off Allinge on Bornholm Island {Denmark). The organisers include many well-known clubs in Scandinavia: Kongelig Dansk Yachtklub (KDY) from Denmark, Kungliga Svenska Segel Sällskapet (KSSS) from Sweden and Kieler Yacht-Club (KYC) from Germany.

Eligible to participate in the final races on Bornholm are all IMS yachts registered at the start of the season 2006. All boats must participate in at least two of the races listed below listed in order to qualify. The winner of the finals carries the official title of the Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) ‘North European IMS Champion 2006.’

Points from the following races will count towards the HSH Nordbank Blue Championship:

9-11 June Volvo Suursari Race, Espoo, Finland
8-11 June Faerderseilasen, Oslo, Norway
17-25 June Kieler Woche, Kiel, Germany
2 July Eurocard Gotland Runt, Sandhamn, Sweden
23-29 July Swedish IMS Championship, Marstrand, Sweden
8-13 August IMS World Championship, Neustadt, Germany
8-10 September Norwegian Championship, Oslo, Norway
You can read about the ranking here.