Preparations are well underway for the start of the AEGEAN 600, organized by the Hellenic Offshore Racing Club and co-organized by the Region of Attica. Assembled here in Lavrio at the beautiful Olympic Marine are most of the foreign boats that will take part in this new and demanding sailing race in the Aegean. In fact, some of them have even gone out for practice with their crews and confronted for the first time the peculiarities of the Aegean race course.
Even if the Covid pandemic presented a stumbling block for many sailors to participate in this inaugural edition, 40 entries from 16 countries will be on the starting line in front of the Temple of Poseidon on Sunday, July 4th. The start signal will be given by Lefteris Avgenakis, the Deputy Minister of Culture in charge of Sport, who is also representing the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Yesterday a safety seminar was organized for the competitors that included instructions for first aid, safety, communication and rescue at sea. It was attended by the boat captains and safety officers of each boat, who were appreciative for this initiative from the organizers. After the seminar, Greek traditional food products as well as Greek natural cosmetics were distributed in order for the athletes to be protected from the Aegean sun.
This race has been designed by sailors for sailors, and the organizers have therefore left nothing to chance. The competitors will soon get detailed weather forecasts focused on the difficult crossings of the Aegean in order to plan their tactics and better enjoy the race.
Crew sizes vary greatly: some have 15 sailors on board while eight entries will sail the Aegean in the double handed category. These teams of two will face perhaps the greatest challenges in a race of this difficulty and duration.
The Hellenic Offshore Racing Club, with the support of Helmepa, continues its program to Save our Seas. Thus the AEGEAN 600 will be an event with the smallest possible ecological footprint. The skippers meeting will take place tonight, followed by the Opening Ceremony.
Five major ocean races of 600 nautical miles length are held abroad and the AEGEAN 600 aspires to become the sixth within this group. The establishment of such an event will put Greece among the competitive sailing destinations and will strengthen tourism and consequently the economy of the region.
Sponsors of AEGEAN 600 are the Hellenic Tourism Organization, Olympic Marine and D. KORONAKIS SA. The event is supported by HELMEPA, SEABORNE Shipbrokers, Palirria, X-Yachting, NISSOS beer and NAUTILUS. The suppliers of the race are KosmoRide, Gregory’s and KORRES providing products to the competitors as well as services necessary for the organization of the event. Health Supporter is Athens Medical Group. Communication sponsors are ERT and ERA SPORT, the newspaper KATHIMERINI, the sports newspaper SPORtime, the magazines SEAHORSE, SAILING WORLD and BOATS & YACHTING Guide as well as the HELLENIC DAILY NEWS NY.
Text & Photo Credits: AEGEAN 600
