X-Yatchts have been so kind and point us in the direction of the DR archives where we find a 30 minutes program from 1982 talking about export success of the X-102. The tv program is in Danish and there are not subtitles, but it is still fun to watch.
I dont have time to do a transcript of the program in english, but there are a couple of key takeaways from the program.
Price in 1982 – 400.000 DKR which is equivalent to 1 million DKR in 2021
55 boats sold in 1982 only 3 i Denmark at the time of the program
Turnover in 1982 in was 20. million Dkr equivalent to 54 million Dkr in 2021
Build number 55 is featured in the start of program
Major markets were Norway, Sweden and England
The founders payout the first 3 years where 70.000 Dkr pr year
Production was sourced to smaller companies to avoid build a huge administration, and reduce risk. They needed owner of the workshop of to be involved in the build to secure quality of work.
At the end of the program Niels Jeppesen sails together with Bjørn Olsen (Ship designer) responsible for Nimbus 30 amongst other, and a childhood inspiration to Niels. Bjørn is being asked about his opinion on the X-102, and repond “I like the more narrow design, and not wide body because we need to go upwind – pointing” he also thinks that IOR design rules was a risk due to the missing shaft in the hull. Niels was quite fast to respond “I have just participating in a regatta in Finland where we sailed in 20 meter pr sek reaching a speed of 17 know we need to man on the rudder to be able to control it. If the rudder can withstand that, it for sure is secure as a family cruiser.
You can click on the button below to see the TV show in full screen.
2021 marks the 40 years anniversary of the X-102 which started to see light in 1981. The boat introduced a revolutionary design with a combined cruse racer for a a crew of 6, and quickly gained success on the race track as well a good tour boat for the family.
173 boats was built from 1981 to 1987 and it was sold and exported to many countries around the world, were it still is admired to this day, when it enters port, or is seen in its natural habitat of 6-8 meters pr sek in relative calm waters.
Text from X-Yatch own home page
The second X-Yachts model launched was a true cruiser/racer sporting a center cockpit. It was designed for IOR’s 3/4 Ton upper rating limit of 24.55ft. Hull 07, “Soldier Blue”, won the 3/4 Ton World Championship in 1981 and was skippered by Ib Ussing Andersen, helmed by Jens Christensen with tactics by Lars Bo Ive, all now of North Sails fame. In 1982 “Lille du” won the same title and gave X-Yachts a head start in the international yachting arena.
The Sea Round history – 1981
Soldier blue and Sponsor Wanted participated in Sealand Round in 1981, which is actually recorded in this video from the 1981 if you fast forward to 6:12 or 23:00 minutes in this video you will find a small clip of the boats competing against each other. Sponsor wanted was skippered by Niels Jeppesen, and soldier blue was skippered by Ib Ussing Andersen.
Sealand Round 1989 – 19 boats
I have received this list from Lars Olesen Larsen of the participating boats in Sealand round in 1989. He have have been so kind and share a bit of the history of the boat. It would we great if we could hear from any of the skippers who actually sailed in 1989, or current owners of the boat type.
X-Yachts 40 years anniversary 2019 – X-102
X-Yacht released this year book in connection with their 40 years anniversary, where they wrote the following on the reason for introducing the X-102.
Extract from the year book:
But the laurels were not for resting on. At the autumn exhibition in Copenhagen, the yard published the plans for the next model, a 10 metre long cruiser/racer with a central cockpit. The decision to develop the new boat was based on several factors: One reason was the desire to expand the “range”, just as Lars and Niels Jeppesen and Birger Hansen had concluded that it was difficult to sell the X-79 in all parts of Europe. New model in pipeline
The new boat, named X-102, was designed to the IOR ¾ Ton parameters, but was equipped with accommodation to make it family friendly. Launch was in the spring of 1981 to enable entry in the sailing races Fyn Rundt and Sjælland Rundt. This gave the opportunity to optimise the boat before the middle of July when it was entered in the official world championship in Helsingfors in Finland for boats with an IOR handicap not exceeding 24.55 ft, the upper limit of the ¾ Ton class.
The “old” guard X-102 ”Soldier Blue” participated and won the World Championship. The boat was captained by Ib Ussing Andersen and steered by Jens Christensen. They were both co-founders and co-owners of the newly established sail-making firm “Sejlmagerne”, later “Diamond Sailmakers”, which became the main driving force behind North Sails’ conquest of the world market for sails for the world’s largest and most exclusive ocean cruisers. The crew of the ”Soldier Blue” also included tactician Lars Ive, who had two years previously placed his J-24 second behind the X-79 at the Sjælland Rundt race. Lars and Niels Jeppesen also participated in the championship in another X-102, taking the seventh place.
With 40 years in the making there must be lots of fun stories to tell about the history of the boat. I have done a bit of internet research, and I have seen fun videos of people sailing in narrow channels in Sweden, and people who say the have sailed single handed across the Atlantic in an X-102.
I would a appreciate your help to find these stories, so we can document for the benefit of the X-102 community.
I received this scanned document with documentation of a refurbishment of an X-102 in Germany called Agent-X. There are some fine details about the project, and some of the changes the made during the project are things we all can learn from.
Let me know if you have content to share, and have things you think we need on the website. The Facebook group have seen quite growth last year, and it is being used by members from Denmark, Germany, Sweden, England, Holland and Spain. However not all people are on Facebook for different reasons, and some content are easier to be found on website.
Send me an email if you have good content to share, picture you wish to share of the club.
English 
Danish