Record-breaking season for HiQ Sailing Team – Victories and records for Sweden’s sharpest Trimaran

HiQ Sailing Team’s 2007 season was one for the record books. The aim was to win all the major sailing races and beat as many speed records as possible.

In 2007, the HiQ trimaran competed in races including the Lidingö Runt, Gotland Runt, Göteborg Offshore Race and Tjörn Runt, racking up a total of four wins and three new speed records.

The sailing season began in May with a victory in the classic Lidingö Runt race. This was followed on 15 June by an attempt to break the record for the stretch between Helsinki and Tallinn. The team beat the old record convincingly , setting a new record of 1 hour, 46 minutes and 22 seconds, which is a whole hour faster than the previous record. In the Gotland Runt, which kicked off on 1 July, HiQ Sailing Team was the best in its class. The HiQ trimaran was sailed double-handed, which means the boat was sailed by only two crew members compared to normal eight.

After Gotland, the team set sail for the west coast, where they trounced the competition at the Göteborg Offshore Race on 9-11 August, setting a new record and winning the overall competition. The team stayed on the west coast and took part in the venerable Tjörn Runt competition, where they beat the old record by around 40 minutes. The old time was 2 hours and 49 minutes, while the new time stands at 2 hours and 8 minutes.

After these races, the team turned its attention to some new record attempts. Unfortunately, both the Danmark Runt and the classic Blå Bandet (between Ystad and Haparanda) races were cancelled due to the weather.

“The 2007 sailing season was a great one for HiQ Sailing Team. We’ll try again in the spring and set more records,” says Skipper Klabbe Nylöf. Klabbe Nylöf is ranked as one of Sweden’s most qualified sailors, with wins in the Nokia Oops Cup and Whitbread.

The HiQ trimaran measures 18 x 18 metres, weighs 5 metric tons and has a top speed of around 40 knots.

The successful sailing project is portrayed in a photographic book that will be published at the end of the year.

För more information, please contact:
Anna Jennehov, Head of Corporate Communications, HiQ, tel: +46 (0)8-588 90 000, +46 (0)704-200 049
Pelle Norberg, Project Manager, HiQ Sailing Team/Whyshore AB, +46 (0)708 12 95 56