beauty of a race where every class sails the same course under IRC is that any well-sailed and well-prepared boat has the potential to take overall victory. Around the half-way point Tilmar Hansen’s German TP52 Outsider was in pole position until the HSV youth team on another German competitor, the Carkeek 47 Störtebeker, took the lead after IRC time correction. The largest boat in the race, Kenneth Bjoerklund’s Norwegian CNB 76 Enderpearl, with Ocean Racing Alliance commodore Ari Känsäkoski on board, then became favourite for a period. In a tightly fought four-way battle


on the water that saw the lead change in the fight for line honours multiple times, I Love Poland eventually took the winning gun, just 700 metres ahead of Outsider after 72 hours of racing. Another Volvo 70, HYPR Ocean Racing’s GP Bullhound, took third place on the water, only an hour later, followed shortly afterwards by Ambersail 2. ‘The plan was to fight to the end


and it was exactly that. There were a few wind holes but we crossed the line first and we are delighted,’ says Grzegorz Baranowski, skipper of I Love Poland. ‘When I look at the names on this trophy, we are so proud that ours will go with them. I ameven more proud ofmy young crew who are trying their best to go forward.’ Despite the wealth of experience


in the fleet, including boats that have successfully competed in multiple Rolex Fastnet Races, RORC Transatlantic Races and Caribbean 600s, overall victory eventually went to a local amateur crew in a very modest vessel. On the penultimate day the 32ft


1980s Swedish Albin Nova Team Mobline, raced double-handed by Paer Lindfors and Nadine Kugel, took the lead. However, overall victory on IRC eventually went to Helsinki school teacher Salla Kaven’s 32ft H-323 Silver Moon ll, which crossed the finish with a 16 minute advantage ahead of Team Mobline after time correction. Silver Moon ll has been in


Kaven’s family since new in 1985 and was crewed by her family and friends, who sailed an immaculate race. Her team has previously won many local races, but never a major international competition. ‘I was speechless, just so happy, we never thought we could win this race,’ she says. ‘It was great sailing and everything went well, but even when we crossed the line, I didn’t believe it. The message to all the amateur sailors out there is: ‘You can do it if you want to – do what you love!’” Although two of the lowest rated


Top: Silver Moon II won the race overall under IRC, having been in the owner’s family for nearly 40 years. Above: I love Poland - took line honours. The Poles were first across the finish line after three days of intense racing…but just 700 metres ahead of the TP52 Outsider


boats in the fleet topped the podium, the next three places in the overall results went to the big IRC Zero boats. Störtebeker finished just 47 minutes adrift of Mobline after IRC time correction, and 33 minutes ahead of Outsider, while Enderpearl completed the IRC Zero podium. Swede Niclas Heurlin’s Farr 400 Wetjob headed the leaderboard in IRC One, 47 minutes ahead of Arto Linnervuo’s Xp44 Xtra Staerk, which was the first Finnish boat to complete the race. Early entries for 2024 already


include Mobline, Xtra Staerk, Arto Linnervuo’s other boat, the DSS foil-equipped Inifiniti 52 Tulikettu, and Per Roman’s JPK 1180 Garm. Christian Zugel’s well-travelled modified Volvo 70 Tschuss 2 is also on the list, but is far from the biggest boat – at the time of writing that accolade goes to Zachary Lamb’s giant Swan 88 Spiip. Others include a Swan 441 sailed by Raija Alapeteri, Ocean Ladies, a Figaro ll and Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt’s Judel-Vrolijk 52 Haspa Hamburg. Silver Moon ll is also sure to be there to defend her victory. At the other end of the scale, Niklas Zennström’s state of the art CF520 Ran is also


expected to be on the start line. They are all sure to encounter


more intense racing, camaraderie and magical moments in an event that shows every sign of joining the ranks of the best 600-mile races, including the Fastnet, Caribbean 600 and Middle Sea Race. Entry fees include two days


complimentary berthing, both before and after the race, at Helsinki’s Marina Bay, the official guest harbour in the heart of Helsinki, which can accommodate yachts of up to 45m length and fivemetres in draught. The cosmopolitan waterfront city, located on the tip of a peninsula and an archipelago ofmore than 300 islands, has one of the highest standards of urban living in the world. Helsinki is a perfect start or end


point for a cruise taking in some of the tens of thousands of islands in the Finnish and Swedish archipelagos. The timing of the Roschier Baltic Sea Race also dovetails neatly with the biggest offshore race in the Baltic, the Gotland Runt, which attracts 300 entries racing from Stockholm on four different courses around the island at the end of June. The founders of the Ocean Racing


Alliance are all hugely experienced offshore racers and there’s significant local political support for the race. Official race supporters include the City of Helsinki; Nyländska Jaktklubben (NJK), Finnish Offshore Racing Association (AMP); Helsingfors Segelklubb (HSK); FINIRC and the Xtra Stærk Ocean Racing Society. It makes for a winning combination alongside the international appeal of RORC races and the club’s proven world class race management expertise. For more info and to enter the


race, visit balticsearace.rorc.org ❑ SEAHORSE 63


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