The dramatic finale of Allsvenskan Sailing 2017 took place in Gottskär, Sweden. Only after the 12th and final round of racing was it clear that the KSSS held off the Cape Crow YC to win the season series for the Swedish J/70 Sailing League. “Before the final race, we did not look at our position. We knew it was tough and that we needed a good race. It blew quite a lot. Our tactic was to only make a good race, without stupid maneuvers,” said KSSS Fredrik Bergström. The last round of Allsvenskan offered tough conditions with a lot of rain and wind at the beginning, very light winds on Saturday and lots of winds on the last day (mostly up to 10 m/s). But, neither the KSSS nor the Cape Crow, which are the clubs that dominated this year’s all-Swedish tournament, sailed well in the final event. On the other hand, the Sotefjord Sailing Company won nine of the 12 races to win the final regatta at Gottskär. KSSS came to Gottskär as a favorite to sail home with the gold. However, after half of the 12 rounds were completed, they were far behind and at that time, Cape Crow was the possible league champion. But, KSS’s young, good-natured skipper, 19-year-old Vilma Bobeck, and her crew of Fredrik Bergström, Patrik Erlandsson and Göran Bobeck made some changes in their tactics and completed the last six races with all top three finishes to seal the series win, despite finishing sixth in the regatta. “We did not sail at our peak earlier this weekend. But, on Sunday when it blew much harder, we managed to keep it together, sail well and take advantage of big mistakes by our competitors. We also improved a lot during regatta because we have not sailed this format before and I have never sailed the J/70,” said KSSS’s Fredrik Bergström, an Olympic 470 sailor at the Rio Games. For more Swedish J/70 Sailing League information, visit http://www.svensksegling.se/SSFtavlingar/Allsvenskan/.