rely on that for the rest of the day.’ Local sailors recommend the Greek HCMR’s Poseidon System Sailing Forecast (available in English) and advise caution for those using routing software. ‘Even the highest resolution GRIB files often fail to capture the complex local weather effects,’Aftias warns. ‘Some forecasts offer a 1.25km2 matrix as a paid service but I’m sceptical about their actual usefulness.’ The start of the race should be a straightforward, breezy downwind leg to Milos. After that things get tactical with teams needing to study the geography of the island groups to pick the fastest route – which is rarely the rhumb line because the wind bends significantly around many of the islands and you can easily end up closehauled while others are reaching. ‘You have to look on how every island is positioned,’ Livas says. ‘Consider how wide it is relative to the wind direction, study the height of its mountains and decide how far from the windward and leeward side is safe passage – it can be up to six times the height of the mountains. This allows you to avoid serious katabatic gusts on the lee side or being left with no wind and confused seas on the windward side. In daylight you can cut corners by reading the wind on the water ahead, but at night that is risky unless the moon is very bright.’ The strongest winds are likely to be encountered towards the end of the second leg, in the Karpathian Sea, but there are wind acceleration zones with a strong Bernoulli effect between some of the islands, too. Teams should expect gusts when approaching Kasos, Karpathos and Rhodes; in the Kos Strait; after passing Patmos; in the straits between Ikaria and Mykonos; in the strait between Mykonos and Delos; in the Makronissos strait; and also until clear of Tinos. A top tip from a highly regarded local racing skipper is to give the southern shores of both Ikaria and Tinos a very wide berth. Katabatic winds are most likely on the lee sides of Ikaria, Mykonos, Tinos, and Gyaros. The places where unwary racers are most likely to end up becalmed in a wind shadow are the east/north-east side of Rhodes and – once again – Ikaria. Reflected swell can also make things interesting off the north shores of islands such as Syros and Kea. ‘Ikaria is like a long wall to the north winds,’ he says. ‘Stay well below the rhumb line to be safe and to stay in the fresh, clear wind that funnels between Ikaria and Mykonos. Then again, when the north wind is light it can pay to go very close to the
Above: the Aegean 600 racecourse has been planned by a team of local experts to deliver equal amounts of surfing down- wind, beating upwind and fast reaching, with the most spectacular scenery that the Aegean Sea has to offer. It’s likely to take most competitors three to five days and as it’s the first edition the course
records are definitely up for grabs! Right: Klima, one of the most colour- ful fishing villages in Greece, is on the island of Milos in the Cyclades – the first turn- ing point on the course
rocks on the lee side of Ikaria for the fastest route to Mykonos. Also, avoid going close to the north shore of Syros to cut the corner as the wind tends to lift more than you think.’ As this is a brand new event, the course records for both multihulls and monohulls are definitely up for grabs. ‘Around 48 hours is possible for a racing maxi,’ Tsigkaras says. ‘We would love to attract entries with the goal to set the race record for the years to come.’ For most of the boats in the fleet, he reckons it should take three to five days to sail the course. So which are the local boats to beat? Team Optimum led by Pericles Livas and Nikos Lazos are among the leading contenders, having won the Middle Sea Race once and raced seven times while counting 31 participations in the Aegean Rally, out of which 10 were victorious. They’ll be sailing their updated Farr 52 OD (ex-Chessie Racing) with a battle-hardened crew on board, but are likely to face stiff competition for line honours from rivals including the TP52 Bullet led by Olympian Dimitris Deligiannis, GP42 Black Jack and
many others who are energised by the prospect of the first ever international 600-mile offshore race in their own home waters. But while local knowledge is undoubtedly useful, Tsigkaras says there is every chance that a skilled international team could beat the fastest Greek competitors and win the Aegean 600. ‘This is the first edition and unlike the Middle Sea Race, there is no local team that has a serious grasp of the whole course,’ Livas says. ‘So if you like t-shirt sailing conditions and nice long surfs without fear of extreme conditions, join in and enjoy the ride.’ ‘The Aegean Sea is one of the most interesting sailing areas in the world,’ says Ioannis Maragkoudakis, commodore of the HORC. ‘The Aegean 600 offers non-stop sailing around islands of unparalleled beauty, in a sea that is the cradle of Western civilization. HORC with more than 40 years of experience in world championships and international offshore competitions will ensure its excellence and safety.’
www.aegean600.com
q SEAHORSE 69
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