HRH the Crown Prince of Denmark joined Mike Golding and the team onboard the Ecover Open 60 to experience the boat and watch the finals of the Dexia ISAF Womens Match Racing World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark earlier this week.

The Crown Prince joined the team at the invitation of Jørgen Philip-Sørensen, Mike Golding’s long-term business partner and friend who was also onboard for the sail. The Prince an accomplished sailor himself steered Ecover at speeds of in excess of 20kts along the coast close to the shore past the Royal Danish Yacht Club where he is the patron, commenting on how light and responsive the Ecover Open 60 is to handle.

Mike commented: “It was a great day’s sailing and we were honoured to be joined by the HRH Crown Prince of Denmark who genuinely seemed to enjoy the experience. He was clearly impressed with the speed and lightness of the yacht and I imagine this brief sail has left a lasting impression.”

Today was the last day of a seven-day Danish tour that has seen the yacht visiting Skagen in the North, Horsens in the South and finally the capital of Denmark Copenhagen. Guests of both Ecover and Velux have throughout had opportunities to see the boat and meet the team and many have been able to experience sailing on the Challenge 67 yacht skippered by Ian Bushele.

“Skagen is a beautiful place that we have visited several times before – though never with the Open 60. In Horsens we were met by hundreds of Velux employees who were really enthusiastic to see the boats and we took many of them sailing on the 67. I think that these people who met us will now follow our progress on the VELUX 5 Oceans race with greater understanding of what the sailors are doing.”