J/Teams sweep IRC Doublehanded Division at Baltic Sea Race
by J/Boats 5 Aug 2024 23:48 AEST
Fredrik Rydin's J/121 Jolene (SWE) racing with Johan Tuvstedt is the Two-Handed winner © Pepe Korteniemi /
www.photex.fi
The 2024 Roschier Baltic Sea Race started from Helsinki, Finland on Saturday 27th of July.
Organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club with the Offshore Racing Alliance, the second edition of the 635-mile race attracted boats from all over Scandinavia, Europe, and the United States. Sailors from at least 20 different countries raced the world's latest '600-mile' offshore race.
IRC Doublehanded Division
It was an astonishing race for the trio of J/Teams that swept the IRC Doublehanded podium!
The winner was Fredrik Rydin's J/121 JOLENE (SWE) racing with Johan Tuvstedt!
"For the first part of the race the weather played out pretty much to the forecast as planned, which was good," commented Rydin. "For the second part, the forecast was okay, but not as much wind as predicted. We had heavy winds, but nothing horrific. For any race, preparation is very important. We have sailed together a lot and the boat is in really good shape. You can't have a rigid watch system when you are doublehanded, you have to adapt. In the second part of the race, boat speed was really important, so we managed to get plenty of sleep during the race. This allowed us to stay focused, especially driving."
The runner-up again was the J/109 IRIE (FIN), co-skippered by Julius Haartti & Sanna Moliis. They were about one hour behind the J/121 JOLENE on the corrected time.
Rounding out the podium was Philip Schröderheim's J/99 VITESSE (SWE), racing with Madeleine Lithvall. Remarkably, they finished just exactly 6 minutes behind the J/109 IRIE on corrected time after 4 days of racing!
IRC 1 Division
The 14-strong fully-crewed entries in IRC One came from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, and Sweden. However, one team showed most of them they could be competitive as a doublehanded team! Yes, it was Rydin's J/121 JOLENE that took fourth place in this division!
IRC 2 Division
Similarly, in this fifteen-boat full-crewed division, Haartti/ Moliis's J/109 IRIE took the bronze medal on the podium! And, just 6 minutes off the pace, Schroderheim & Lithvall's J/99 VITESSE took 4th place!
More information at balticsearace.rorc.org