Oxelösund, Sweden - The Oxelösunds Segelsällskap and the Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) are pleased to announce that the 2019 ORC European Championship being held over 11-17 August is now open for entries.

Oxelösund is a relatively young port town in the scenic region of Södermanland, 100 km southwest of Stockholm on the Baltic coast. This is a new venue among many in Sweden that have hosted past ORC European Championships, including Gothenburg, Marstrand, Sandhamn and Ystad. This history and the success of the venues in the Baltic region indicates a strong enthusiasm about ORC racing, with the current record number of entries being the 83 boats from 11 nations that competed last year in Gdansk, Poland.

This many and perhaps more are expected to converge on Oxelösund in August to enjoy several days of inshore and offshore racing after two days of measurement and inspection formalities. Racing will be held in three classes, with European Champion titles awarded to entries in Class A, Class B and Class C, with class splits defined by the CDL ratings in the 2019 ORC VPP, which will be available soon after the New Year.

One team is excited about competing in their back yard, their home being on the west coast in Gothenburg: Patrik Forsgren's modified Beneteau First 36.7 Pro4U. This team has been consistently winning ORC championships in Class C for the past few years, including Gold in Gdansk in 2017, Gold in Estonia in 2015, and Bronze at the Worlds this year in The Hague, Bronze at the Worlds in Copenhagen in 2016, and Silver at the Worlds in Kiel in 2014.

"I've sailed these waters since I was a kid," said Forsgren. "The mix of archipelago and open sea right on our doorstep is the perfect background for challenging racing. I'm really happy that Oxelösund gets the opportunity to arrange the ORC championships and I'm looking forward to coming home. If we're able to get the trophy, it's even better!"

"We are really looking forward to returning to Sweden and having another successful Europeans regatta," said Bruno Finzi, Chairman of ORC. "This region has a long history of excellence in offshore sailing, so we expect a lot of good teams and strong enthusiasm. We urge all who are interested to sign up early in their planning for a high-quality event."

Already there are 18 entries signed up from six nations, with many more expected soon.

Entries fees are offered at discounted rates prior to 30 April 2019, the fees then increasing until 30 June, then increasing again until the close of entries on 15 July.

An important part of planning is booking accommodations for the team, and these can be made in Oxelösund or nearby Nyköping at these sites:

www.visitoxelosund.se/boende
www.nykopingsguiden.se/bo

More information on the ORC Europeans can be found at https://orc2019.oxss.nu, with entries made at http://european2019.orc.org/en/default/races/race-inscription/text/preliminary/YES/cruise/yes.

More on ORC rating systems, ORC certificates and events can be found at www.orc.org.