With more than two months to go before the close of entries, organizers from the Hellenic Offshore Racing Club (HORC) are excited that there are already teams from 13 nations signed up for the 2023 edition of the AEGEAN 600.
This is the most internationally-diverse fleet in the three-year history of this annual race, often referred to the “perfect 600-mile race” for its superb race course, excellent weather and sea conditions, and outstanding Greek hospitality.
AEGEAN 600 – Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio © Hellenic Offshore Racing Club
Activities in this 3rd edition of the race start on Sunday July 2nd with free berthing for all entries, followed by numerous pre-race activities held daily, such as the Safety Seminar held on Thursday July 6th. The Skipper’s Briefing will be on Friday July 7th, and then the spectacular start of the race held at the ancient Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio on Sunday July 9th. The event concludes with a gala Awards ceremony on Saturday July 15th.
All activities will be held at the Olympic Marine venue, a premier full-service facility that provides complete services and support for visiting yachtsman. Dockage for entries this year will not only be available at no charge from July 2nd through July 17th, but moorings will be organized together to create a more cohesive Race Village feel to the event. This will allow participants and their friends and family to enjoy the pre- and post-race ambience among the fleet of boats entered in the race.
Olympic Marine venue – photo © Hellenic Offshore Racing Club
Another innovation is adding a new event to the entry calendar: a 13-mile warm-up race starting at 11:00 on Saturday July 8th. This short prelude to the main event starting the following day will offer a more structured opportunity for not only the teams to practice, but the race committee as well.
The current entries in this 3rd edition are spread widely in size, origin and boat type. Among the monohulls this ranges from Gerasimos Petratos and Evangelia Delidou’s local-based Greek double-handed Dehler 30 AETHER to George Sakellaris’s USA-based Maxi 72 PROTEUS and Chris Sherlock’s Farr 100 Leopard 3 from Malta.
Safety Seminar – photo © Hellenic Offshore Racing Club
A wide range of multihulls are also in this fleet, from Andreas Hofmaier’s 32-foot Corsair Cruze 970 trimaran SAYG I from Austria to Niels Hartmann’s 50-foot Marsaudon Composites TS5 catamaran KIRKI from Jersey.
All entries will transit a 605-course that takes them around and through the beautiful Aegean islands – including the world-famous caldera at Santorini.
Another notable entry is Sascha Schroder’s Ceccarelli-designed NEO 430 NEOMIND, a new fast cruiser-racer built in carbon fiber and introduced last year. They will no doubt be racing among some other fast monohulls in this range of size and speed, such as Charis Mavrogeorgis and Vaggelis Nikolopoulos’s Carkeek 47 OPTIMUM from Greece and Alberto Magnani’s Swan 45 TENGHER from Italy.
Santorini Island in the Aegean Sea – photo © Hellenic Offshore Racing Club
Besides PROTEUS and LEOPARD 3, this year’s AEGEAN 600 has also attracted two other Maxi’s and is on the schedule of the International Maxi Association’s (IMA) Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge for 2022-23.
After observing the event last year, IMA’s Rob Weiland said “No doubt this 600-mile offshore race shall be on the bucket list of every owner and crew into offshore racing, one look at the course map and you are hooked. It’s not yet a classic like the Fastnet or Middle Sea Race but it will be. All components are in place: the Greek hospitality is legendary, a great marina, blue water, good breeze most of the time, sun and stunning scenery, and all that just a 30-minute drive from Athens airport.”
AEGEAN 600 – photo © Hellenic Offshore Racing Club
Another interesting fact about this race is that 70% of the teams currently entered are racing the AEGEAN 600 for the first time.
“This demonstrates we are appealing to a broad audience of international sailors who want to come to the Aegean and see what we have to offer offshore racing,” said Ioannis Maragkoudakis, Commodore of HORC. “We are very fortunate to have excellent conditions and the deep cultural heritage of life on the sea, and we look forward to inviting the offshore community to join us.”
For more information on the 2023 AEGEAN 600, visit aegean600.com.
by Hellenic Offshore Racing Club
