DEN J
A never ending source of fun
ens Lauge has been sailing OK Dinghies for around 12 years and is regularly in the front group in Danish fleets. Now sailing out of Hellerup, which boasts one of the largest fleets of OKs in the world, he is the perfect example of the demographic that the Danish expansion has attracted, middle aged, looking for relatively cheap, easily accessible and strong competition. He has also sat on the Danish committee for many years. Here he speaks about the attraction of the OK, equipment choice and where the class should go next.
Q: What’s your background in sailing and how and when did you get into the OK? A: Like many of my fellow sailors, I was introduced to sailing in the Optimist, at around eight years of age. At that time my parents were active sailors, and as far as I can remember, I wasn’t given much of a choice really. I really couldn’t swim either, but the YC required you to manage 200 metres, fully dressed, which I accomplished backstroking. My last year in the Optimist must have been around 1983-84, but at that time I was too light to do any transition to the Europe dinghy, which at that time was the only real alternative. I bought a windsurfer instead, and sailed division two and later on wave. I’ve done some keelboat campaigns along the way, x-79, Int. 806, 606 and so on but really had quite a break from sailing, until 2009. A sailing buddy of mine from the keelboat days, had bought an older OK Dinghy, and persuaded me to
go along. I found an old Henriksen OK, DEN 1267, with a red top Needlespar aluminium mast and was really hooked from there on. Q: What was the attraction? A: It’s really a mix of the simplicity of sailing on your own time, and the complexity of the gear that’s intrigued me. I think I must have sailed locally for just a year, before I moved my dinghy to Hellerup. On a bad day, we’re no less than 5-6 dinghies on ‘Stormy Bay’ and on good days we have 15. Asking people if they want to sail, isn’t really necessary because there are always people out there. It’s not like you need to schedule your sailing; if you have a few meetings cancelled at work - you go. Gear wise it’s just a puzzle, and experimenting with sail, mast, foil and hull designs is a never ending source of fun. We can spend hours discussing mast bends, and hull designs in Hellerup, and when somebody enters with a new brand of sail, there is quite a buzz. Q: What are the standout moments for you at international and Danish events? A: To start with, the first Danish event I ever entered was the Nationals back in 2009, in Bramsnæs. I remember only entering the regatta for one day, although it was sailed over three. But on that particular Saturday, it blew a gale over Bramsnæs. I hiked and capsized myself to death that day, and it really turned
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