Karl Otto and Maren Magda Book are known for being up to a new challenge, and this past weekend, they managed quite a feat at the ORC DH Euros in Helsingør, Denmark. Here, they won overall and in Class A for the biggest boats in the event, racing well known machinery in the shape of "White Shadow" - a Landmark 43, which they normally crew in Norway and in ORCi-events.
Sailing White Shadow shorthanded is a different task, though. The Landmark 43 is quite a big boat for shorthanded sailing, which was part of the challenge for our two colleagues. Just like the rest of the Sjælland Rundt Race Week, the weather did not favor any speed records. In stead, the low-wind conditions meant that the race became nothing short of a marathon, and with a winning time of 50 hours and 50 minutes, Karl Otto and Maren had to hang in for the long run.
- Running doublehanded obviously takes more time and planning for each and every move. I take it we could have done more to set up the boat for doublehanded use, but at the end of the event, we had used all of our five options for the gennaker. We were not exactly bored, Karl Otto says and adds.
- The conditions changed all the time, and with the ORC running in different classes, it was always a matter of avoiding the patches without any wind. Being in Class A, we had the faster boat, but it also meant that we had a few episodes where we had to make the right calls in order to avoid getting stuck and then catched up by everyone else. It happened once and then almost once over again - but on the second occasion, we were saved by two quick showers. The rain fell in exactly the right place and gave us momentum once more.
White Shadow has previously made its mark in the Nordics - both in Norway and in a more international perspective at last years ORCi European Championships. The 2022 ORCi Europeans was held in Hankø, Norway, where the White Shadow took silver in the Class B and followed up on the Worlds Silver from Haag in 2018. With the new title in place, time is to focus on the next big event for White Shadow and the rest of the crew. Preparations are on - in just over a month, the full crew is back on, aiming for a new and strong result at the ORC Worlds in Kiel, Germany, in the beginning of August.
- First and foremost, I want to say thanks to Torkjell Valland for lending us White Shadow for this race. It's fantastic for us to have the opportunity to play with such a nice piece of kit as the White Shadow. Now the game is on to get everything set up for the ORCi Worlds in Kiel. We are expecting a fierce competition and we obviously hope that we can make the all-important last step up the podium after winning the European Silver in 2022 and Offshore Worlds Silver in 2018. However, this was an amazing warmup for Maren and I, Karl Otto Book ends.