King Harald’s sailboat Fram was the first in its class to arrive at the coastal town of Horten in the early hours of Saturday, after leaving Oslo the day before at the start of the annual Færder regatta.
Conditions for the regatta, the biggest of the year with around 1,000 boats participating, were miserable on Friday. Heavy rain pelted the crews, temperatures were downright chilly and the winds shifted continually, leading around 10 percent of the skippers to give up and drop out midway.
King Harald and his crew also had to battle the elements, and newspaper Aftenposten reported they were 20 minutes behind the leader Camilla, until that boat sailed into an area off Bolærne void of wind. The king opted to sail on the other side of Bolærne and took advantage of a westerly that suddenly gave it a 20-minute advantage.
Later this month the Fram’s crew will travel to the Mediterranean for the Copa del Rey regatta, where they’ll probably face tougher competition. The Camilla will be there as well.
Views and News staff
