Events
An elite club
After 10 years of success with the well-established RORC Caribbean 600 along comes another fascinating and challenging course for offshore enthusiasts... every bit as spectacular but this time a little further north
The RORC Baltic Sea Race is set to become the newest and most northerly member of the 600-mile club. Due to start on 21 July 2022, the inaugural race has come about thanks to a collaboration between the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) and the Ocean Racing Alliance (ORA). The race of approximately 630 nautical miles will start and finish off Helsinki in the Gulf of Finland. The course will incorporate the Swedish island of Gotland, located approximately 250nm southwest of Helsinki. The race is open to boats racing under IRC, Mocra, Class40 Rules and a number of other class associations.
RORC Racing Manager Chris Stone is excited about the prospect of the new race, which will take place in alternate years. ‘The Royal Ocean Racing Club has a history of organising new offshore races, such as the RORC Caribbean 600 and the RORC Transatlantic Race,’ he says. ‘The Baltic Sea Race reflects the huge amount of interest we have received from sailors in this region. This new event has all the criteria for producing a race that is ideal for offshore racing, as well as good logistics for competitors and the race
74 SEAHORSE
team. On top of that, our partners in Finland have a real passion for hosting a race in their own region.’ The race is supported by the City of Helsinki, the Nyländska Jaktklubben (NJK), Finnish Ocean Racing Association (FORA), Helsingfors Segelklubb (HSK), FINIRC and the Xtra Stærk Ocean Racing Society. At the core of the organisation are three passionate sailors: Jan Paukkunen, Sakari Kalske and Ari Känsäkoski, commodore of the FORA. ‘Jan is my vice commodore and co-organiser of the race, and he’s running all the racing aspects of the event,’ says Känsäkoski. ‘Sakari is running the safety side and social events on the shore, and I’m responsible for the rating side of things, as well as the marketing and sponsorship. We’re all really excited to make this race happen and to deliver a great event that people will enjoy and remember.’ A dedicated Class40 skipper, Känsäkoski brings a lot of real-world offshore experience to the organisation. He has competed in three Rolex Fastnet Races, the Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race, the RORC Transatlantic Race and the RORC Caribbean 600: ‘We expect strong interest from teams
Top & above: Helsinki is the host city for the brand new RORC Baltic Sea Race, a 630-mile circuit that starts and finishes off the Finnish capital, loops around
Gotland and passes close to Stockholm
participating from Finland and from all the nations that border the Baltic Sea. The 2021 test event showed that the course for the RORC Baltic Sea Race is very interesting. The course is very strategic with land influences in the Gulf of Finland and around Gotland. The course is basically on a windward leeward axis, so we expect tactical decisions about which side of the course to choose, as well as managing wind shifts.’ Entries are likely to be strong from the nine countries that border the Baltic Sea: Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, and Russia. Entries are also expected from Ireland, Norway, and the United Kingdom.
JUSSI HELLSTEN/HELSINKI MARKETING
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112
