Skagen record falls

Ex-Fram TP52 sets fastest time between Denmark and Norway

The regatta season in the Nordics is definitely over, as the winter gets closer. But a little frostbite didn’t stop Wolfpack Racing Team and their TP52. On Tuesday evening they broke the speed record between Denmark and Norway.

The TP52 Wolfpack, ex-Fram XVI, started form Skagen, the northern tip of Denmark, in a fresh southwesterly gale Tuesday afternoon just before the sun went below the horizon.

"We saw 40 knots of wind right after the start and ended up in a spectacular broach where we lost 5-6 minutes. It was an 80 nautical miles wet and dark ride," said Thomas Nilsson of Wolfpack Racing Team.

The team has had a successful season with speed record and over all win in the FjordSailing Shetland Race, gold in the Norwegian Championship and gold in several other big Norwegian regattas.

For this speed record they brought aboard, amongst others, Olympic medallist Peer Moberg, Volvo Ocean Race sailor Arve Roaas, regular Fram crew Kjell Arne Myrann, and Farr 40 sailors Ivar Andreas Monefeldt and Nils Jacob Nordenstrøm.

The team drove the boat hard and had an 15.96 knot average speed, with a 24.03 knot peak speed. The 52 footer never sailed slower than 11 knots during the 80 nautical miles.

The crew was rewarded with a new course record, breaking the old one by 48 minutes. The new record now stands at 5 hours 4 minutes and 5 seconds. The old record belonged to Rune Aasberg and crew on the Class 40, Solo. Aasberg is now in Le Havre, France waiting to start the Transat Jaques Vabre with his sailing partner Simen Løvgren.

"We had hoped to break the five hour record, but the wind was variable and was more westerly at the end of the attempt. But we got the record, and it was a very good finale for this season," concluded Thomas Nilsson.