All six engines have been stolen overnight from the GT10 youth powerboat fleet at Sundsbekkdalen in Tvedestrand, according to a Facebook post by Nena Sunde, the Norwegian Class 3J world record holder who competes out of the same club.
The boats belong to Tvedestrand Racingklubb, which ran a GT10 race at Tjenna during July’s UIM Offshore European Championship. GT10 is Norway’s first organised powerboat class for children, built for competitors aged eight to twelve, and Sunde’s post named club leader Jarle Hagane and Tvedestrand Racing Klubb as the contacts for anyone with information.
Attribution: Nena Sunde, Facebook
All six engines have been stolen from the GT10 boats in Sundsbekkdalen tonight. Who gets to do something like that to a bunch of kids who are going to race and train? Do you have tips, or know anything? Contact Jarle Hagane or Tvedestrand Racing Klubb.
Norway’s Only GT10 Track
Tvedestrand Racingklubb is the sole club in Norway running GT10, and Songevann, the lake at Sundsbekkdalen, is the class’s only approved training venue in the country. Every boat runs a standard engine and propeller, a rule set to keep the class fair for young competitors and affordable for their families. Training normally takes place on Tuesdays and Saturdays through the season.
The theft strips the power units from boats built to introduce children to sea safety and racing, days before the club’s next scheduled sessions.
Part of a Wider Pattern
Norway has a well-documented boat motor theft problem. Insurance body Finans Norge recorded NOK 118 million in stolen boats, motors and equipment nationally last year, according to a Redningsselskapet release, and Dagbladet reported thefts of boats, motors and equipment up by almost 50 per cent in the first half of 2024 compared with the previous year.
Tvedestrand and the neighbouring Holt district have their own history with the problem. In November 2022, thieves took boat motors and equipment worth several million kroner from a storage hall at Langang, with Agder police contacting Swedish counterparts as part of that investigation. In July 2026, a stolen boat fitted with a 40 horsepower motor was spotted back on the water near Tvedestrand and recovered after a police boat pursuit, though the two people suspected of taking it got away.
Fundraiser Launched
Tvedestrand Racingklubb has launched a Spleis fundraising campaign to replace the stolen engines, with a target of NOK 100,000. The club says any money raised will go entirely to the GT10 project, and that the full amount will still go to the project if the theft is instead settled as an insurance claim.
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
