New World Champion Boat Christened and Inaugurated

The four times world champions - now Team VELUX - took delivery of their new boat on a truck directly from the yard in Haderslev for christening at the new sponsor, VELUX, in Hørsholm.

The team and their boat then went to Vedbæk Harbour for the year's first race.

It was a proud Team VELUX that introduced their new boat to the world. And the team have very great ambitions. They have their sights set on both the Danish Championship and the World Championship in their boat class again this year. René Villefrance from Team VELUX says, "We aim to win first the Danish Championship and then the World Championship. We have the experience, and we have been given the best possible conditions through our cooperation agreement with VELUX. That means that we can have the best and most tuned gear, and we feel well equipped to bring the cup home to Denmark again."

The first race in which Team VELUX competed was the North Minolta Trim Cup on Sunday, 4 May, outside Vedbæk Harbour, where the VELUX boat has a permanent mooring.

"The race went well considering the circumstances," says René Villefrance, crew member and tactician on Team VELUX. "It is a tough boat class, and there are many competitors that would love to beat us. We are reasonably satisfied with the result because we were making adjustments to the boat right up to 10 minutes before the start. We only got the boat into the water on Friday evening, so we actually did not manage to sail in her before the race on Sunday. We are now doing more work on the boat and will be ready for the Danish Championship in Vallensbæk on 31 May and 1 June."

Plenty of backing
Except for just a few changes, the team have sailed together for five years ¿ the last two with a regular team. They won the World Championship in the X-99 class in 1999, 2000 and 2001, and in 2002 there they were on the rostrum again, having won the World Championship for the fourth year in a row. The boat was then sold. Now, VELUX has entered the field as sponsor and is thus breathing new life into the experienced team's World Championship dreams.

René Villefrance says, "For us, VELUX has turned up trumps as our new sponsor and is thus making it possible for us to continue battling for medals." He then adds, "Besides that, VELUX has many of the same values as we have in the team: fresh air, daylight and thoughtful use of resources. It is not only who we are, but also what we do."

There is immense backing for the sponsorship among VELUX own employees, many of whom attended the christening on Thursday, 1 May. And many VELUX people will undoubtedly be seen in Denmark's harbours this summer as they follow "their" boat.