Fleet Cross Baltic Sea to Åland

After a couple of hours of sleep the small boats left Lidö in the archipelago of Stockholm at 03.30 to head out in to the Baltic Sea towards Åland, a landscape full of small islands between Sweden and Finland. Conrad Humphreys and Ryan Crawford on Team Blue Ocean took an early lead after the start. In light south-easterly winds, at around eight knots, the teams made a few big tacks over the Baltic Sea towards Rödhamn in Åland.

The warm weather Sweden has seen for a month’s time is gone. It is cold, humid, and when crossing the Baltic Sea the water was at 13 degrees Celsius…Arriving in Åland many teams were tired, wet and cold. In the light winds and open sea brokerage is not yet an issue although one boat retired already this morning after the start at Lidö. The Swedes Thommy Sundström and Markus Lagerqvist on Klinger had a hard day yesterday breaking their spinnaker pole and continuing sailing while working on it. They worked until late at night at Lidö while the other teams were able to catch some sleep. But at the start this morning, they saw the repair was not reliable and crossing to Åland would not be safe. Disappointed they are now heading home.

A bare handful of leaders are starting to form. This strong international mix of four boats with; Hobie Cat-specialists Eric Proust and Romain Motteau, Team Kalix (Fra), William Sunnucks and Simon Farren, X-Leisure (UK), Fredrik Ekman and Gustav Tempelman, Sundsvalls Bygg (Swe), and Patrick Demesmaeker and Michel Proot, RBCSB Huysman (Bel), are consistently among the first boats to arrive at the checkpoints. After three sailed legs Team Kalix has taken the lead with a few points ahead of Sundsvalls Bygg.

Ronny Haals and Jonathan Barck, from Team Åbit, are the only team from the autonomous islands of Åland. The locals are excited to be sailing in home waters today. “We're the first Åland team ever! I've done the race twice before, but it's the first time we are a full team from Åland. The competition is wild and for us this year it is more like a test, we would like to come back next year seriously trained and prepared to defend the flag of Åland," said Ronny Haals currently on 18th place.

The small boats are heading northeast towards Lappo in the north-eastern part of the Archipelago of Åland. They will navigate a number of checkpoints before arriving later on tonight, having sailed around 80-100 nautical miles when the day is over. As this archipelago is loaded with rocks and islands there are many navigational options to choose and the rainy afternoon will demand good tactics from the sailors. In the light winds the crews will probably have to execute a bit of the notorious paddling the Archipelago Raid is dreaded for amongst the sailors. Early tomorrow morning the boats will set sail even further east towards Nagu in the Finnish archipelago.

Result Positions 14 June
1. Team Kalix, Eric Proust & Romain Motteau - Fra
2. Sundvalls Bygg, Fredrik Ekman & Gustav Tempelman - Swe
3. X-Leisure, William Sunnucks & Simon Farren - UK
4. RBSC Huysman, Patrick Demesmaeker & Michel Proot – Bel
5. Team Thule, Martin Strandberg & Johan Örtendahl - Swe
6. Team Garmin, John Bäck & Gustav Morin - Swe
7. Team BLUE Oceans, Conrad Humphreys & Ryan Crawford - UK
8. SWE 558, Ola Person & Tomas Westergren - Swe
9. One Design Center, Martin Hållsten & Malcom Hanes - Swe
10. BT, Ellen MacArthur & Greg Homann - UK/Aus
11. N-Group, Matti Nieminen & Mikko Nieminen – Fin
12. HH-Marin, Thomas Ekefalk & Carl Johan Söder – Swe