Eight Bells: His Majesty King Harald V of Norway
Last Friday, at the crack of dawn, King Harald caught the light northerly breeze and headed out to sea.
King Harald’s first sail was in 1939 on the Int. 8-Metre Sira. He was two years old, Sira was brand new, just launched at Johan Anker’s yard in Asker.
Whether it was a Fram campaign or his Sira, for 87 years King Harald drove his boats hard, enjoying the life at sea, meeting old friends and making new. Like nothing else, sailing seemed to lift the weight of a nation from his shoulders. Always with a smile, a great sense of humour, witty and with an immense capacity for joy.
King Harald was a highly accomplished and competitive sailor, he competed in three Olympic Games: Tokyo 1964, Mexico 1968 and Munich 1972. Amongst his many victories he most notably won the One Ton Cup as well as the Sira Cup during the Int. 8-Metre Worlds in 2008 at Hankø Yacht Club. Always racing with his friends, all world-class corinthians sailors who shared his fierce competitive spirit, the love of racing sailboats as much as each other's company. Throughout his life, King Harald has raced modern, state-of-the-art yachts. However, the Kongeskipet Norge and the Int. 8-Metre Sira have remained cornerstones of his life and love for the sea.
Like his father King Olav before him, King Harald was honorary president of The International Eight Metre Association. In that role over the past 35 years, his wisdom helped guide the association through some of the defining moments, always taking a step back and looking out for what was best for the class and the joy which defined our sport.
He used The Royal Ship Norge extensively, not only for state visits but even more so to visit the coastal communities of Norway, paying tribute to the people living in the remotest corners of his country and inviting them for drinks on board. Norge also serves as a training ship for naval cadets and officers and, when not on official duty, she served as a mothership for countless Fram and Sira campaigns.
King Harald has inspired generations of sailors far beyond Norway. On weekends, whenever his scheduled allowed, you could find him at the Kongelig Norsk Seilforening, casually dressed, teaching kids how to race their Optimist, telling the Norwegian youth of his coastal racing. The King of Norway was a man who always treated everyone around him with equal respect.
King Harald’s final sail was just a few weeks ago on Sira. King Harald was 89 years old, Sira 91: same boat, same man, one last sail with his friends, the King at the tiller and happy as can be.
Sail on your Majesty, sail on.
Werner Deuring Murdoch McKillop John Lammerts van Bueren
IEMA President IEMA Executive secretary Honorary life member
