A week ago in front of the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio, 37 teams of monohull and multihull entries with sailors from around the world started a 605 nautical mile non-stop race through the Aegean archipelago, challenged by winds of all extremes, tricky tactics and navigation and tough competition in the inaugural edition of the AEGEAN 600. The event proved to be an inspiration for offshore sailors everywhere, as the images from the social networking sites of the competitors travelled around the world advertising the beauties of Greece.
“This is a fantastic event,” said Elio Petraci, manager of the Farr/Felci 70 said Atalanta II, line honours and IRC overall winner of the race. “It’s one of the most beautiful tracks I’ve ever done in my life.” This expression was heard throughout the fleet among the participants in this race.
So, at the impressive outdoor closing ceremony held at the Lavrion Technological and Cultural Park, race organizers from the Hellenic Offshore Racing Club (HORC) have announced plans already for the second edition to be held over 8-16 July 2022. The success of this year’s inaugural edition – with the carefully designed race course, superb and challenging race conditions and the warm hospitality of the hosts at Olympic Marine – all contributed to strong interest in participating teams to want to return along with ongoing interest from teams unable to attend this year.
“Boat owners are excited by this event and have expressed their warm thanks to the Organizing Committee,” said HORC Commodore Ioannis Maragkoudakis. “In fact, sailors from as far away as America and Australia followed the award ceremony live through our social media channels and they too expressed their admiration for such a well-planned event.”
During the awards, Deputy Minister of Sports Lefteris Avgenakis congratulated the organizers and pledged that the Government will support the next event. “I feel lucky to have met the sailing family through people who love the sport,” said Mr Avgenakis. “The Government is committed to supporting the next event so that AEGEAN 600 becomes an institution in the world of offshore sailing and I am sure that this goal will be achieved.”
The large perpetual trophy of this race, which is an exact replica of an ancient Attican ceramic vessel from the 5th century BC, is symbolic of the deep roots this culture has had with the sea. Take home trophies for division winners included silver copies of ancient artefacts from 3,000 BC of the Early Cycladic Civilization until the 5th century of the Classical Age, and the participants expressed their enthusiasm both for the art of the Ancient Greeks and for its ongoing promotion by modern Greeks. The significance of this culture to modern civilization is well-respected, as many said that awarding these copies of ancient Greek culture is a great honor.
Olympic Marine in Lavrio was the mooring base of the AEGEAN 600 fleet, and owner George Prokopiou said “This was an amazing match: the race was fantastic and we were very proud to be part of its success. We congratulate the organizers and to all who took part in this important event, and look forward to helping again next year.”
The organizer of AEGEAN 600 was the Hellenic Offshore Racing Club, co-organized by the Attica Region, and supported the ecological action of HORC in the “To Save our Seas” program.
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.
