MidsummerSail 2023 sets sail
by Robert Nowatzki 22 Jun 2023 05:06 NZST
21 June 2023
The longest and toughest Baltic Sea race has started
63 boats set off on the 8th MidsummerSail on June 21st, trying to beat the new record set last year: 4 days, 19 hours, 7 minutes and 46 seconds.
The challenge will take them 900 nautical miles across the entire Baltic Sea, from its southernmost point in Wismar, Germany to the northernmost point, Töre, in Sweden.
A cannon on the replica historic ship, Wissemara, started the race on Midsummer's day at 1300UTC when the sun was at its highest point in the year.
Single-handed, double-hand or fully crewed, the boat sizes and classes couldn't be more different: ranging from a 5.70 Waarship, two Class Mini 6.50s, up to the 10-man crew Farr 42 IRC, Universitas.
All of them with the aim of standing on the yellow buoy which marks the northernmost point of the Baltic for the famous finishers' photo.
Everyone to finish the challenge gets a medal, with prizes for the first over the line, first multihull, smallest boat and smallest crew to finish, and IRC corrected time.
And all of those who make it up to the northern climes are rewarded with the equally famous white nights of the Scandinavian summer, where the sun never sets.
You can follow the race tracker at www.midsummersail.de/gps