Huge OK Dinghy worlds opened in Denmark

Robert Deaves
Sun, 07 Jun 2026 20:09:58 +0000
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On Sunday evening the 2026 OK Dinghy World Championship was opened at Hellerup Sejlklub after 203 boats from 14 nations completed registration and equipment inspection. It is the second largest OK Dinghy World Championship of all time.

After three days of preparations at Skovshoven Havn, the fleet made the short trip to Hellerup Sejlklub for the opening ceremony in their famous hall, a former movie studio used between the 1930s to the 1960s. Hellerup now has one of the largest OK Dinghy fleets in the world and has jointly organise this event along with The Royal Danish Yacht Club or Kongelig Dansk Yachtklub (KDY).

The clubs have assembled a huge team of volunteers to make this huge championship happen and run smoothly, in the class’s 70th anniversary year. The historical significance of this event is not lost on anyone. The current growth of the class – and the entry here – has gone beyond expectations, with an encouraging number of younger sailors joining for this event.

The weather has put on a proper Danish welcome the fleet with a bit of everything so far. For the practice race, held Sunday afternoon the wind was 8-12 knots, with lots of clouds, a little sunshine, and a strong current. But it was also good practice for the race team to learn how to manage this huge fleet. The fleet is split into two groups sailing and inner and outer trapezoid loop. Two races are scheduled each day from Monday to Friday.

History and legacy are a hugely important part of the class, and at this event the sailors are surrounded by it. The OK Dinghy was designed in Denmark in 1956 by Knud Olsen. His reversed initials gave the class the name that is now synonymous with world class competition. His son, Lars Olsen, was part of the equipment inspection team, over the past three days.

Speaking about his father he said, “He would be proud, definitely proud. I think he never, in his dreams, had the idea that the class could be like this. After about 70 years, it’s astonishing. And so many new people coming on.

“I’m just over 70 years old now and my father used to say – 70 years ago – a fantastic thing happened. I thought he was talking about me. But it was the OK Dinghy”.

“It was a popular thing, though relatively early he handed it over to OKDIA, but it was still his baby. His legacy is everywhere. And by having more than 200 boats for the world championship, it’s just fantastic. It’s great to see how they have developed and how are sailed after all these years. Only thing is we might be missing some youth, but I think that’s the main problem in all dinghy classes.”

The forecast for the week ahead continues to be typically Danish but the temperature of the competition will surely be more prominent than the weather. Racing is scheduled to get underway Monday at 13.00.

Noticeboard here: https://www.manage2sail.com/en-US/event/9149908f-7772-48e1-9f34-801b55ef556b#!/

Full gallery here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/okdia/albums/72177720334087328

Event website: http://2026.okworlds.org