The brand new X-40 participated in and won Two Star Race 2004 in Norway. We asked the skipper for a report.

The Rules
Watski Two Star is a new race this year. Simply spoken the rules are as follows: Two men or women in each boat. Total distance 330 NM. Start outside Hankoe, pit stops in Arendal and in Marstrand and then final destination; the sound at Hankoe, which displeased more than one. At each pit stop a clock was started when we arrived, and then one has exactly 3 hours to get going again.

Directly from the shipyard in Haderslev
The yacht, a brand new X-40, had started sailing directly from the shipyard in Haderslev to Hankoe on Saturday. Gunnar Myhre, my racing companion, arrived on Sunday from the Tonga Islands; where his other yacht was situated for the time being. On Tuesday he saw the X-40, and I arrived directly from work on Wednesday to meet both the yacht and my companion for the first time. We had 6 hours before the start, which was just about enough time to put the sails and everything else which had to be put onboard a brand new yacht.

When the start gun went off for our class we realized that with so many well known racing sailors and big speedy yachts, it was not a realistic aim to reach out for the big cups, but simply to enjoy the experience and the excitement of the race. With a fair wind in the beginning everything seemed to work extremely well. As we passed the lighthouse at Faerder, the wind turned, and the announced gale approached. The spinnaker was hoisted, and our speed increased considerably. We found great pleasure in noticing that many of our competitors had problems in keeping a steady course without broaching, and as the wind increased we seemed to be the only boat able to sail deep enough.

Extreme speed and an official record
We sailed through a dark and rainy night filled with top speed and challenging obstacles, but at last the smooth part in the sound of Tromoeyallowed us to eat, and clean the boat as well as having a quick nap. Reaching the harbour we were very surprised to see that we were the first boat in our class, and awaking after 2 hours sleep finding X-482 (Skaaret/Frostad), IMX-45 (Moberg/Nilsen) and an X-442 and a Centurion 45 outside us, we realized what an extreme speed we had sailed. According to Seilmagasinet, we broke an official record of 8 hours and 5 minutes.

Challenges and pleasure
After having passed through the belt of skerries with intense concentration and needle eye navigation, not to mention hoisting the spinnaker, we realised that we had left behind the boats which started before and after us by a few nautical miles. Comfortable sailing up towards Koster, and then total calm at the north of Koster, we found the 2nd and 3rd boats had left us behind. We had to change to a light spinnaker. When we passed Soestrene we received a SMS saying that Al*Cap*One (Moberg/Nilsen) and Jokermann (Skaaret/Frostad) were passing the finishing line. Even if the experience and nature of this trip was great, we would very much like to see the bright shine of the cup. With intense hard work our boat almost flew on pure adrenalin. Scarcely an hour later, we were cheered and congratulated by Frostad. As the harbour was almost empty, we had to be cheerleaders ourselves!

What a success - 3 titles
“Number 1 in our class”, “Best X-Yacht” and “Number 2 overall” (behind a 54” Trimaran); 3 titles which gave us incredible pride. The 2 following nights of dancing and fun were well deserved.

Sverre J. Tangerud