Bo Petersen talks sailing, training and his fascination with the OK Dinghy

Bo Petersen sailing his OK dinghy © Robert Deaves

There are several truly talented and dedicated sailors within the OK Dinghy class and one of them is definitely Bo Petersen from Denmark. After only a few years in the class, he has already won several titles, including the European Championship in 2013, and has quickly risen to become one of the stars of the class. Jonas Börjesson spoke to the current World No. 2, as he was curious to learn more about his background and what motivated him to start sailing the OK Dinghy at age 49 and how he acheived his rapid rise to the top.

Bo Petersen started sailing the OK Dinghy when he was 49 years old, in 2012. By 2013 he had won the Europeans in France and in 2015 he won the Nordics, and then the bronze medal at the World Championships, in Puck, Poland. Why did he start sailing the OK Dinghy? "I had not sailed very much over a 20-year period when on a walk in Hellerup harbour in 2009 I came upon a Contender."

Bo thought it would be an interesting experience to learn how to sail the technically difficult Contender and once his Lisbeth had given him permission he found himself sailing a dinghy again. "When I started up, there were many talented Contender sailors in Hellerup but quite soon they dropped out one by one and I found myself sailing alone most of the time. I had also noticed that there were 3-8 OK Dinghies on the water every other day but I had no desire to switch from trapeze to hiking straps."

One day in March 2012 Stefan Myrälf approached Bo and asked him if he would like to come out and test the OK Dinghy. Stefan had two OK Dinghies and was happy to lend one of them to Bo. "I thought I might give it a test but thinking back I remember I first of all saw it as an opportunity to meet Paul Elvstrøm, my hero of all heroes." Paul happens to be Stefan's father in law and lives in the same house as Stefan where he also keeps his OK Dinghies.

"We started to sail and I was immediately fascinated by the OK Dinghy since it reminded me of the old days when I successfully competed in the Europe dinghy. My physique was not the best though, which was a bit of a problem. I could not imagine how I would be able to get the OK Dinghy going in a breeze. After a while, I realised that the World Championship was to be held later that year in Vallensbæk in Denmark. I made a rental deal with Stefan on the boat and got started in the class."

What was his goal with OK Dinghy sailing when he started? Was it just for fun or was he aiming for the top from start? "After the first few months of sailing the OK Dinghy I decided to see if I could reach the top. I knew the conditions for such a challenge were great in Hellerup where you get to sail with Jørgen Lindhardtsen, Stefan Myrälf and Jørgen Svendsen. These sailors are among the best in the world and I have great respect for all of them. Also, there were several other OK Dinghy sailors who were pretty good as well, making it a quite a competitive fleet to practice with."

Bo explains that he always strives to get in a mode where he sails without reflecting on the different sailing techniques. "Your body and the dinghy should work together as one integrated part, and you should not need to think about your boat handling. Then, your mind can totally focus on the tactical and strategic aspects of the race. I think one of my strengths might be that I am aware of this and constantly work to reach this mode." For many OK Dinghy sailors this mode is seemingly unattainable since it requires so much time on the water, time which most do not have.

Bo also talks about the importance of being in good shape. For obvious reasons you need to be in good shape when sailing in strong winds. "To be able to hike effectively during the whole race saves you hundreds of meters." But Bo also emphasizes the importance of fitness for your ability to maintain your concentration. "If you are in bad shape, then it is easy to loose your concentration and that will affect your sailing immediately. Thus, good fitness is important not only when it is very windy but also in light wind conditions since it enables you to stay focused longer than your competitors."

How often and how much does he sail? "One of the main reasons I started dinghy sailing again in 2009 was actually because I had a bad conscience for not really doing any physical training. Sailing was a fun way to get in better shape and thus feel a little better with myself." In the same way the exerciser goes for a run every second day, Bo went sailing. After a while he realised that the sailing also had an effect on a mental level. "When I was out on the water, there was no phone and I was free of all obligations. It was like an indispensable space of leisure that every grown up deserves. Today, I can not do without this space and during this autumn and winter when I have had no dinghy I can see that it is not so much the racing I miss, but more the daily meditation that the sailing gives me on the sound outside Hellerup."

When asked to describe a typical training session in Hellerup, Bo laughs and explains that the fleet in Hellerup is actually not that good to set up and perform proper training sessions. "It always turns into a World Championship. Normally, there are 4-12 OK Dinghies and we do five or six up and downwind races with rabbit starts. We all use our best gear and full power setup since no one wants to lose." After sailing, there are always discussions about who was the fastest and sometimes these are quite loud, according to Bo. He thinks the best training session is when this concept is dropped and you do either speed training through line-ups or just practice boat handling through specific exercises. "I have had many great training sessions with Stefan Myrälf and Jørgen Lindhardtsen. They have sailed so many line-ups and they know both how to do it properly to get the maximum out of it. The three of us just fit really well together, and it is great to test masts, sails and their settings together with them."

He has firm views on the future for the OK Dingy class. "A couple of years ago, Jørgen Svendsen said to me: 'Don't you think the class will die with us?' And I remember answering him that I thought he was right. Since then, I have revised my thoughts on the OK Dinghy class. Today, there are so many new boats being built, and they are built with great quality and cool designs. These new fancy boats match the Finns and Europes in style and I believe there will be Finn sailors who will find the slightly less physically demanding OK Dinghy very attractive. The same goes with Europe and Laser sailors that have become too heavy. Suddenly, there is a cool alternative in contrast to how it used to be with the old and battered wooden OK Dinghies. No, Mr Svendsen, I no longer believe the OK Dinghy will die with us. I actually think the OK Dinghy class can continue to grow and become really big and keep attracting many good sailors into the class in the future."

What are his future goals in the OK Dinghy? "I've just had a half year break from OK Dinghy sailing but once I get my new boat from Strandberg Marine in February I will start to sail again and my goal is to be 100 percent prepared for the upcoming World Championship in France. After the 2016 season I will once again take a little break to recharge my batteries and build up mental power before the preparations for the Worlds in Barbados, in 2017, starts up. After Barbados, I really do not know. Perhaps I get into another class, for instance the Star. Let us see what life will offers."