Sailing’s top stars compete against each other in this year’s Nokia Oops Cup

2005’s Nokia Oops Cup, the Nordic-Baltic yachting race, is shaping up to be more spectacular then ever before, with the absolute cream of the racing world lining up at the start. One of the world’s most successful skippers of multi-hulled boats, Frenchman Bruno Peyron, and his Swedish navigator, Roger Nilson, head the Stena Sovcomflot Sailing Team 2005 in their boat - a 60 foot long, ultra high speed trimaran – which can easily reach breakneck speeds of up to 35 knots. This year sees the fourth running of the Nokia Oops Cup, perhaps the most exciting demonstration of extreme racing in the world. Incredibly light and fast, 60-foot trimarans race through the heart of some of the Nordic and Baltic regions’ largest cities, including Stockholm and St. Petersburg. The race starts in Helsinki at the end of May. "We have developed a very good boat and are looking forward to giving the other competitors a real fight. Our skipper, Bruno Peyron, is regarded as one of the world’s best yachtsmen on this type of boat," says Roger Nilson, the Stena-Sovcomflot navigator. Sailing this type of lightweight boat can have disastrous consequences and can come to a very abrupt end if the skipper doesn’t know when it is time to hold back. The difficulty lies not only in pushing the boats to their limit, but in slowing them down and doing so in time. The boat’s limits can be exceeded very suddenly, and when that happens, they capsize. "You can always push a boat hard in a strong wind, but the person who wins is, in my experience, the one who best knows when it’s time to hold back. Bruno is brilliant at doing this at precisely the right moment," says Nilson, who has crewed for Bruno Peyron several times over the years. World record holders Peyron and Nilson were the skipper and navigator, respectively, of the giant catamaran, Orange II, which recently broke a sensational speed record for sailing non-stop around the world. They crossed the finishing line in Brest on 16 March this year, a mere 50 days after the starting gun was fired in the same location, with more than a week to spare over the old record. Proof, if ever it was needed, of their outstanding ability and skill in sailing multi-hulled boats. "As with all shipping, it's the crew that makes the difference. I’m absolutely delighted that we’ve got such a competent crew to challenge the other competitors in what I regard as the most exciting and extreme event in the sailing world. This project makes our focus on shipping in the Baltic clearer than ever," says Ulf Ryder, President and CEO of Stena Bulk. The project is collaboration between Stena Bulk and its partner, Sovcomflot, Russia’s leading tanker shipping company. The two companies recently concluded a partnership agreement that has now been further strengthened by their joint involvement in this racing yacht. In addition to Bruno Peyron and Roger Nilson, the Stena Sovcomflot Sailing Team 2005 comprises Frenchmen Steve Ravussin and Pierre Yves Moreau, and Swedes Linus Netshagen and Per Jonsson - all highly qualified racing yachtsmen with considerable experience of sailing multi-hulled boats. The racing starts in Helsinki on 21 and 22 May, continues in Stockholm on 28 and 29 May, before moving to Gothenburg on 6 June and Oslo on 9 and12 June. The Faerder Race will also be held off Oslo on 10 June, followed by Sjælland Rundt on 17-18 June and then a race in Copenhagen on 20 June. After taking part in the Gotland Runt race on 3 and 4 July, the next competition, Sandhamn to Sopot in Poland, starts 6 July. Sopot City Race 10 July, Sopot – St Petersburg 12 July and the cup finishes in St Petersburg with a speed race on 16 July. "We can see huge potential in Stena Sovcomflot Sailing Team 2005, both as a marketing tool and as a means of involving staff and clients throughout the region in question. Technical sophistication, safety and speed are factors for success that we share with the modern sport of yacht racing," concludes Ulf Ryder. For further information: www.nokiaoopscup.com Roger Nilson Stena Sovcomflot Sailing Team 2005 +46 707 97 98 01 roger.nilson@canit.se Ulf G. Ryder President and CEO, Stena Bulk AB +46 31 85 50 01 ulf.ryder@stenabulk.com Notes to Editors Stena Bulk - With offices in five countries, Stena Bulk is one of the world’s leading tanker shipping company. Our in-house design department is just one of the things that enable us to deliver innovative solutions for our customers’ transport and logistics requirements. The company has a controlled fleet of around 70 tankers and is active in every sector of the tanker market. Stena Bulk is part of the Stena Sphere, with just over 13,000 employees and a turnover of SEK 34 billion. www.stenabulk.com Sovcomflot - Established in 1973, Sovcomflot is Russia’s largest shipping company and one of the top 20 shipping company in the world. It is focused on the Russian energy export sector. Sovcomflot is based in Moscow and has offices in St Petersburg, Geneva, London and Limassol. The company employs 3500 people at sea and 250 on-shore personnel. Sovcomflot was the first Russian shipping company established according to international shipping practices. It operates 47 vessels totalling 3.6m dwt and its fleet is one of the youngest in the world. The average age of its vessels is just four and a half years compared to the industry average of 9.6 years. www.sovcomflot.ru