Roschier Baltic Sea Race – A new adventure has begun • Live Sail Die
Thursday 21 July 2022, Helsinki: Incumbent Roschier Baltic Sea Race started on time outside the historic port city of Helsinki. 27 boats with more than 213 sailors from 18 different countries started the first part of the 635 nautical mile race organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club together with the Ocean Racing Alliance in the Baltic Sea.
Helsinki is north of the 60th parallel and in July there is almost continuous sunshine, so the start of the early evening was witnessed by an armada of regular spectator boats with Helsinkians basking in the warm sunshine and light south wind. The Roschier Baltic Sea Race is a marathon, not a sprint, but all three IRC starts were very competitive. In the big boat, the IRC Zero Class TP52 Outsider respectfully took penalty turns within minutes of the start after Ambersail 2 suffered a port starboard. The wind picked up as the international fleet advanced past the Helsinki lighthouse, 12 miles to 635. -mile race.
Jeremy Wilton, CEO of the RORC commented after the start: “It has been a great start to the first round of the Roschier Baltic Sea Race and its realization after much planning in a city like Helsinki with such a strong maritime history. One of its unique features is that it is the first 600 miler to start and finish in a major capital city, making it ideal for the offshore race profile and IRC classification rule.
Three hours after the start, VO65 Ambersail 2, with American skipper Clarke Murphy at the helm, was leading the Line Honors race, just ahead of Volvo 70 I Love Polonia skippered by Grzegorz Baranowski. Tilmar Hansen’s German TP52 Outsider was third in the water. An early tactical decision was whether to hug the coast of Suomenlinna or stay closer to the Helsinki loxodrome. The Outsider chose the latter, while the three tilting keels went ashore. Ambersail 2 was visibly hauled ashore and appeared to be making an early ascent.
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In IRC One, Arto Linnervuo’s Finnish xP-44 Xtra-Staerk got off to a great start by judging the line to perfection at the end of the Komitevane. Three hours after the start, the race was just as close. Xtra-Staerk was the first in its class to go around the Helsinki lighthouse, followed by Pasi Uodi’s Finnish Sydney 40 Rush. A pack of boats were close behind, including Niclas Heurlin’s Swedish Farr 400 Wetjob, Germany’s Millennium 40 Edelweiss skippered by Ove Franck, Hakan Groenvall’s Swedish First 40 C-me and Ed Bell’s British JPK 1180 Dawn Treader.
In IRC Two, Olof Granander’s Swedish First 40.7 Embla was the first in its class to round the Helsinki lighthouse, closely followed by Margus Uudami’s Estonian J/112 Nola. Ilmari Absetz’s Finnish IM3 38 Kind of Magic was third in the class, turning west.
Four teams compete in the IRC Two-Handed Roschier Baltic Sea Race. Paer Lindfors and Nadine Kugel from Racing Sweden Albin Nova Team Mobline had the best start in the entire starting series. However, the clear leader in the water after three hours of competition was the Finnish J/109 Irie, sailed by Julius Haartti and Sanna Moliis. Finngulf 41 Indigo sailed by Pyry Alamaek and Goera Antila did well, as did Anders Lundmark and Louise Edgren competing on the Danish Figaro 2 The Spirit.
The Roschier Baltic Sea Race looks like a complicated weather scenario in the coming days. There was a recurring theme in the platform speech before the start. The decisive part of the entire race was a good pace to the Almagrundet lighthouse, located outside the Stockholm archipelago. Good wind speed is expected to continue until the afternoon of the second day. After that, the boats may see the wind drop, giving a big change to the end game.
“We couldn’t run this competition without our partners and sponsors who have helped and supported us in getting this first edition to market,” commented Jeremy Wilton, CEO of RORC. “So, a big thank you to Roschier, the title sponsor and our other partners, and of course to all the volunteers who have worked so hard to bring this first edition to life. We believe it has every chance to grow and become one of the classics.”
The official sponsors of the Roschier Baltic Sea Race are: the City of Helsinki; Nyländska Jaktklubben (NJK), Finnish Offshore Racing Association (AMP); Helsingfors Sailing Club (HSK); FINIRC and Xtra Stærk Ocean Racing Society.
Stay up to date with the race and follow the fleet: https://yb.tl/Balticsearace2022
For more information and to follow the Roschier Baltic Sea Race:
http://www.rorc.org/baltic-sea-race