Russians and Danes neck and neck in the Nord Stream Race
by Nord Stream Race 1 Jul 2019 09:27 PDT
23 June - 5 July 2019
The Russian Team at Nord Stream Race 2019 © NSR / Andrey Sheremetev
The Russian Team have won the 180-mile offshore leg of the Nord Stream Race from Stockholm to Helsinki. They hold a small lead over the Danes who are in hot pursuit on the leaderboard.
The offshore races in this year's Nord Stream Race are proving to be very exciting. Every team sails the same type of boat, a ClubSwan 50. Every team is faced with the same conditions in this "Connecting Baltics through Sport" race from Kiel to Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki and St. Petersburg. The format offers a taste of what is to come in the 2024 Olympic Games, when the mixed-offshore keelboat event will take place for the first time.
Mikhail Sheremetev, skipper of the Leviathan Sailing Team Russia, commented on the third leg: "When we passed Sandhamn and sailed into the Baltic Sea, we accelerated away with the gennaker. It was a very enjoyable and exciting leg." Russia's closest rival, the Danish team, was defeated by a tactical mistake at the start of the race. Peter Warrer from the Danish team commented: "Our navigation before nightfall proved to be incorrect. The Russians sailed very well. They had a speed advantage on us when we were sailing through 25 knots in big waves."
Tuesday will see the Inshore Races take place on the waters in front of Helsinki. The Danes have proved to be strong opponents in the Inshore Races and could still achieve overall victory if they do everything right on the final offshore leg to St. Petersburg.
The Nord Stream Race travels through the Baltic Sea along the route of the "Nord Stream" underwater gas pipeline and has a mission to connect the neighbouring countries and their people. In every harbour where the five regatta teams stop with their sleek racing yachts, sporting and cultural events take place.
Since its inception in 2012, the Nord Stream Race has been hosted by the St. Petersburg Yacht Club with the support of Gazprom and Nord Stream AG. At 1,000 nautical miles and following the route of the Nord Stream Pipeline, this has become established as the most demanding and prestigious offshore race in the Baltic region.