The organisers for the Færderseilasen, Scandinavias biggest distance yacht race , have decided to theorise, at least, with a race which returns to Oslo rather than the nice hook to Horten which has been the long lasting format: the Akerbrygge-Tristein-Horten course round the lonely rock with the imposing Færder lighthouse on it, and then the short return leg, is for us in the DNA of the race.
What is proposed by KNS is nothing short of a recipe for lower entrance and boredom for those who take part. The course could in 2015 start from Drøbaksund, or Son, and then double back once round the ruddy rock and proceed all the way back to Oslo. Why then, would this be a catastophical mistake?
Step by step as the race goes
1) start. The vast majority of entrants come from inner Oslo fjord. It is a day out doon the watter for all and sundry just as round the isle of Wight is for the inner Solent's marina sardines. Those whom come from further a field, find friendly availability of berths or at least pontoon ends for the Thursday night, and many from the clubs from Son, Moss, Tønsberg and so on to Larvik, motor up early hours to Oslo or maybe even tune up a little under sail.
The current start then is a spectacle along Oslo harbour's sea front with Aker Brygge at one end, lined with thousands of spectators who see rack upon rack of vessels head out through the narrowing channel and off into the Fjord proper.
Son on the other hand, is a little like Lymington or Rhu, a village, much further out and unlikely to atttact many site seers. It is a few hours less steaming than oslo for deliveries from other clubs, but then of course you have the reverse on the homeward yacht move. Drøbak has a spacious marina but is narrow of course being a sound, and the waters south of this have some shallow and bumpy at the sides while further south they get deeper and are in effect taken up by two sea lanes. So the prepositioning area and area for the start are cramped and remain so for a some distance north and south and causes a disruption to shipping which will be doing at least 15 knts up the wider channel . Also, there is little spectator friendliness there, all harder to get to. The Channel to the other side of Drøbaksund is wilderness with zero spectator access as is the area outside Son where the fjord become widened with the mouth to Drammen fjord to the west.
So you have actually only a compromise with the real objective of such a start area being so as to shorten the course enough that people come back to Oslo within a day. More on that later.
Start then ,in a shipping lane, or like Hollenderen, a sailors only thing from wee bitty Son SF. Loss of spectacle, loss of public, loss of sponsor interest?
2) underway, shortening. In the old format after the creeping slow marathon of 2007, when many boats made a transit with Horten, smelled beer and DNFed to the ale tents and partied in the glorious weather, then KNS did allow for a shortening of the race for classes that had not spread out. This is then ideal, with various lengths from Hollaender light into a b line Drøbak to Horten being possible to manage if the fleets did not have run away leaders that is, which often happens in light airs but then the course could be shortened based on the forecast in time for that.
In the new proposed format a shortened course would then mean a random finish line followed by a long motor up to Oslo i.e. a big anticlimax.
3) the final stages. It has to be said that in the abscence of tradition and in comparison to the late season Hollenderen from Son, that setting off down to Tristein during the day would open up the challenging half way goal post, Færder lighthouse, for smaller boats too, and help to hold the fleet out of harms way - that is to say a combinatiion of a cloudy dark night, blustery wind and big seas which do happen in June. Taken then instead in daylight and then it's up the sheltered fjord again.
Yes, up the sheltered Fjord into the evening, indeed. It is not just the infamous drifting-Drøbak doldrums which can render this course to snail racing: if the wind is sea breeze or small gradient then it is going to be light the north side of Håøya all the way in to a finish line presumably off KNS or maybe Aker Brygge. I for one do not fancy drifiting into Oslos city lights at quarter of a knot boat speed at night in fine weather with nae wind!
4) the finish line and the finishing drip drop drip.......
In strong contast to the spectacle of a hundred and more boats lined up per start gun , with a gun every ten minutes from midday, a finish line in Oslo harbour would be a tortourous drip drip of boats coming in, most likely in light airs and most likely between 0100 and 0800 saturday.
It has zero appeal to the non sailing public and does nothing to promote the sport, the reverse, it makes it a damp squib fo sponsors and media coverage. A lay man, land lubber camera crew cannot help but capture the current spectacular start, and helicopter footage of the Snarøya section has featured on national news too. Waiting around for a boatx, 2 knts speed, is that yacht racing??
5) the all important after sail
Given light airs as likely up the fjord then you will have a lot of straggelers who come in during saturday once the sea breeze kicks in. That happens anyway ok. But where do you all gather? Raft up at akerbrygge? Or the marinaless islands out in the middle ? Prize giving at the king's farm near KNS?
No single marina has capacity even with rafting.
Where do you put your head down so to speak ie get berthed at 2am when several marinas are in use to accommodate the fleet? Do you get yobs from the Oslo night clubs trying to board you ?
As with some other events which have started to dissapate out berthing, the bars attract fewer folk. Also in Oslo, how many folk will arrive to a wife with a rolling pin or your 2.4 in hand to ween you off the sauce. For the minority female skippers, would your non sailing fiance turn up like a wet blanket when otherwise you can have a riot flirting and being rowdy at Horten?
Horten is nicely far away from the madding crowd and the nagging household. It has capacity for all and the rafting is safe and sheltered, and makes for part of the spectacle without hindering many motorboaters day out as rafting in Frognerkilen would for example.
6) the way home
For swedes and lower fjordinger, Horten makes for a nice easy ride back, and for Oslo folk they can motor home while nursing hangovers and bruised egos , and be under the fastidioulsly low blood alcohol limit in the five or six hour steaming home. Also crew etc can bugger off on public transport and spouses can visit Horten by car if they must, in a quick motorway journey now from Oslo or the south western towns on the fjord.
In contrast in Oslo most sailors are back home as mentioned, many will be badgered into taxi driving kids or simply not drinking very much while others will smell home cooking, a hot shower and clean, dry sheets wafting down from the middle class west end and simply wander home after a couple of throat. libations.
===CONCLUSION===
It would be basically not be the Færder race to many of us, and I fail to see it attracting many more Swedes, Danes and norske southlanders. Current numbers are down due to economics more than anything else. Numbers would crumble more, down to the few hundred who do Hollenderen I would dare say.
However a race from Akerbrygge which returns to Oslo could be a very viable race format, and actually a replacement for the current Hollenderen or other race?
My suggestion would be to change the current Round Oslo Fjord race in May to being a start in down town Oslo and then a course or permutaitions of courses, down and round Håøya ie Drøbak and west channel home, with possibility for the super machines trucking to Hollender light and back to Oslo.
That type of race would attract more than the usual racing suspects who bang around off Asker in the Fjord Rundt race, and could be used as a warm up or taster for FÆrderen. City slicking sponsors get exposure at both the start and the after sail, with the numbers of boats being in the couple of hundred, mostly locals.
Another alternative would be a multiple start line race TO oslo from as far away as Skagen and Marstrand , with all the clubs down Oslo fjord running a start, perhaps with a calculated average mile pursuit type cup for an overall winner
, with some degree then of the fleet collecting itself as it nears Snarøya : ie staggered handicap starts with slow boats out first from Larvik and so on, with the faster boats starting later or even having devious dog legs to then make it a hare-and-hounds race to the line.
That race could be run the weekend before FÆrder race as a feeder , but I reckon a mid august time may be better.
As a final concession to FÆrder'n maybe having a finish in Oslo, why not a pursuit race back on the sunday from Horten? Followed by a hot cuppa and a bun on Akerbrygge, alcohol free sunday eve as it would need to be.
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