Gullviverallyt 2011 - Race Report

My second "Gullviverallyt" is now completed and just like last year it was truly a perfect event. The weather this year was arguably the best ever in the 30-or-so-year history of this competition - sunny and warm AND windy. It's not always you get to enjoy that! The only downside for a Dehler 29 were the strong winds - the D29 is typically at the top of her game in very light winds, preferably 5-10 knots (tacking). So 20 knot winds, like we experienced quite often during the race this year, are far from ideal given then reasonably short hull of the Dehler 29 where longer boats can make use of a longer water line.

Nonetheless we did have some really good runs and as a crew we enjoyed every bit of it. It strikes me also how important it is to nurse and maintain a good atmosphere as a crew and that the selection of crew members should be based on "a good sense of humour" as much as "a good sense of boat speed". That was truly the case for "Kind of Blue" (the boat I sailed on) this past weekend; lots of laughter and good times on the rail.

The first two days offered lots of spinnaker runs whereas day three and four were more focused on tacking routines. Another striking feature to this competition is the level of skills among the sailors. It's not that often a "family race" can attract former Olympic sailors or Volvo Ocean Race dare-devils but "Gullvivan" does just that. It's a great mix of family racing (with everything from small toddlers to teenagers on board) and more "rail-hanging" teams. What joins these two groups is the passion for sail racing and the drive to always deliver on the race track. I would argue that this is one of the most competitive starting fields on the east coast of Stockholm each year, not shy of "Gotland Runt", "GranPrix" or "Lidingö Runt".

I'd like to thank Tobbe and Fredrik for a great team effort and although we did not end up better than "mid field" (45/93) we truly did our best also this year. Also a huge thank you to the "Gullvivan" organization where all logistics worked flawlessly.

(More photos will follow in due time).

Yacht designer Håkan Södergren participated as crew member onboard Tarac and "Södergren Group".

The "Gullvivan" race ribbon.

Because of a wind shift the last evening included a move of most boats from the central bay of "Biskopsö" to a straight further south. That was a pretty spectacular event in itself with e.g. two groundings...


Like always with "Gullvivan" there are boats just everywhere. This year 93 boats signed up whereas 81 completed the entire race.



One of the bigger "classes" this year was the "Smaragd".

Dehler 34 "Tjajka" making good speed on the final leg home.

Several "RJ85" on the race track.

"Letto di pletto" with very sleak lines.

Our competitors getting closer...

A battle between Dehler 34 and J/105.