Team Pro4u leaves nothing to chance. Works on with its successful First 36.7.
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Sailing is a material sport. You can't get away. But what does it really take to take a World Cup medal in sea racing? A brand new carbon fiber build from any of the hottest designers? Apparently not. Patrik Forsgren and Team Pro4u won silver at the ORCi World Championships in 2014, bronze at the 2013 European Championships and bronze at the 2012 World Championships – and they did so in a First 36.7 from 2001. It may be regarded as "old" in these contexts, and you would think that it has been in the barrel. But it actually has its advantages. A natural step Patrik bought the boat used about ten years ago. The aim was not primarily to sail with it, at least not at any higher level. He was really just looking for a comfortable but fast and fast and well-sailing cruiser/racer for himself and his family. Patrik instead invested in F18, the catamaran class that grew strong both in Sweden and the rest of the world. He was successful and won five RM and SM in a row. Internationally, he was somewhere around the 20 mark and felt it was difficult to get so much further. Reaching the top would require an effort that was not possible given his life situation, with jobs and family. So five years ago he decided to stop with F18 and start with something else. Patrik had sailed his entire life and his résumé was long: He had a World Cup title in 2.4mR and had won the Swedish Championship in F18, Express and 2.4mR. In addition, he had a number of Swedish Championship silver medals and SM bronze in 470, Flying Dutchman, 606, Starbåt and 6mR. By now he had tried most things – dinghy, keel, construction class, multihull. But not so much sea racing. Sure, he had sailed Gotland Runt and similar sailings, but he had never really invested wholeheartedly in it. If you want to be a complete sailor – and that's one of Patrik's big goals – you must sooner or later get to grips with this type of sailing. Now time has come. He already had a boat.
A boat in change Patrik's boat is fully decorated and equipped with the most required for a comfortable life on board. Given that there will be around 150 overnight stays a year (he and the children live basically in the boat throughout the season), it is almost a prerequisite. However, it differs some from a standard standard boat. The boat was already equipped as new with a higher mast and longer boom (all in carbon fiber), and thus has plenty of sails. To better carry the increased sail surface and get better all-round properties, Patrik has added about 200 kg extra in the keel. And this winter they have put on a new rudder and opened up the cockpit aft, including to create larger swing rooms for tactics and big-forward trimmers. In other words, is it a way to try to "cheat" the rule? Not at all," says Patrik. The question is whether it is even possible. The ORCi rule has developed a lot over the years and is now considered very fair. Or "hard to fool" if you like. No, changes have simply been made to create the best possible boat, not to try to gain benefits on the race track. "That's one of the advantages of ORCi," patrik says. "You can do basically what you want, and you get the metric you deserve." The only thing you have done – or rather not done – with the rule in mind is that some sails have been opted out. For example, it would have been fun with an asymmetric spinnaker, but it would increase the measurement number and would not be of much use on cross/county courses. "We have not tried to gain any measurable benefits. But we also don't want to punish ourselves," patrik says.
Sailing's ten-wrestlers Sailing a big boat can be likened to ten fights. You need all the experience you have gained as a bank app sailor, but you have to master a lot of other things as well, such as meteorology, instrumentation, navigation and sail development. Plus logistics and project management. And you have to be able to build a good team. The latter is not least important. So far we have mostly talked about Patrik but sailing is a team sport. This project involves about ten individuals and it is important to get them to develop and pull in the same direction. Everyone in Team Pro4u is amateurs. There are people patrik has come to know over the years. Friends and friends of friends. Skilled sailors, of course, but Patrik wants to build a long-term team and thinks that the most important thing is that you have a "learning attitude". From time to time they bring a sailmaker on board and at some point they have hired a pro. But it's not to so to speak top the team but to get new input. To learn something new.
Systematic work Team Pro4u spends many hours at sea. Only the race takes a lot of time and then there are transport sailings. Plus training. In the autumn you train once a week, in spring the dose doubles. Every other time it's speed training, every other time you train maneuvers and boataction. This training thing tends to be difficult enough to solve even if you only sail express or 606. But here the crew is twice as large. There are eight people (and their families) who will at the same time find gaps in their calendars. Team Pro4u has solved it in a smart way. When you train maneuvers, you must of course have full crew, but if you train speed, you can do it purely maneuverwise with a rorsman, a large sail trimmer and a genoa trimmer. And then actually the rest of the crew can get time off if they want. However, weight is needed on the edge, but it might as well be co-workers, girlfriends, neighbors – or a number of 25-liter cans filled with water. If you sail a single-type boat, it's quite easy to follow how to develop. Often you can see with the naked eye if you go faster or slower than the boat next door. But Team Pro4u can't use other boats as yardsticks. If you are to develop, calibrated instruments, updated polar diagrams are required and that you document everything you do. It is difficult and time-consuming and requires a systematic approach. The team also works with sail development. The sails are photographed in different conditions and with different trims. The pictures are scanned and sent to Tore Lewander at Lidingöloftet. Together, you then discuss what seems to work best, and how the sail design could be developed further. All this makes Team Pro4u slowly but surely improve themselves and their material. Every year they get a little, a little closer to the boat's performance cap. It takes its time, but they notice it gives results. In addition, you can see the results lists.
New challenges Team Pro4u has sailed four international championships and has brought three medals home. The goal ahead is a given: You want to be at the top of the podium. Euro 2015 runs in Estonia, the 2016 World Cup in Denmark. Then they plan for England and fastnet race. There awaits new challenges in the form of tides, ebb and river and much more. And it is precisely new challenges that attract. That is precisely what makes it developed into as complete sailing as possible.