The second act of the Norwegian J/70 Sailing League took place off the seaside village of Larvik, Norway. A total of 32 teams were sailing in two separate divisions (16 each). It was exciting racing in Larvik where all 10 flights were completed after a long weekend of sailing. The wind conditions made it extra challenging, because with winds coming over land, it varied in both strength and direction a lot. “It was incredibly exciting and fun sailing, but very tiring and nerve-wracking,” commented Jostein Grødem from Åsgårdstrand Sailing Association. As skipper of their team, their third place in Larvik enabled Åsgårdstrand Seilforening to strengthen their position at the top of the table overall for the 16 teams in Division I. It was first and foremost the BI students sailing for the BI Athletics Team that made all the difference. Recently returned from SAILING Champions League races in Kiel, Germany, they showed why they managed to qualify for the finale for the SAILING Champions League in Sardinia in October. Despite the difficult conditions, they sailed steadily through all 10 flights. With six victories and third place as the worst position, they eventually sailed in to what became a clear four-point victory over the 16 teams in Division II. Their team consisted of Alexander Hvam, Vegard Sandnes Larsen, Anette Heldal and Tobias Rabe Sti. The toughest competition was given to them by Tønsberg Seilforening, which had replaced half the team that finished fourth in Sandefjord. Behind Åsgårdstrand, taking third place was Moss Seilforening. All three of the top teams have in common teams of young sailors. The youngest team consisted of two 16-year-olds, a 17-year-old, and a 19. In the first division, Helene Gjerde, Andreas Hole, Thomas Mordt Kolstad, Lene Hjellestad and Ingrid Løvendahl Berg sailed their KNS team to the top. A solid winning streak with as many as seven out of 10 possible first places gave them victory. The Trondheim students on the NTNUI Sailing team finished with four first places in the last four flights to just squeak by to get second place; but only after countback on a tiebreaker at 22 points each. Losing that countback and finishing third was the Molde Sailing Association, their first time ever on the podium in a league round. The Molde students also sailed consistently, scoring three bullets and nine podium finishes out of 10 races. Åsgårdstrand Seilforening now leads with two points at Tønsberg Seilforening in the second division. Sitting in a two-way tie for third is BI Athletics and Moss. Finally, leading their first division is KNS with 4 points, with NTNUI in second with 6 points and Stavanger Sailing Association in third with 7 points. For more Norwegian J/70 Sailing League information, visit https://seilsportsligaen.no/.

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