2025 Bosphorus Race concludes
by Quinag 22 Sep 03:10 AEST
21 September 2025
2025 Bosphorus Race day 3 © Nikos Alevromytis / Alen Photography
Following two days of intense competition on the Sea of Marmara, the 24th Bosphorus Cup concluded today with the race on the Bosphorus Strait. The busy waterway is closed once a year to allow this impressive contest to take place, and as usual a sumptuous spectacle was laid on for both competitors and spectators.
While the Bosphorus Race itself was won by the Farr40 Nescafé Xxpress Cheese, the seventh place finish by the JPK1180 Rossko Racer was enough to give the crew victory overall, by two points from newcomers, Aboat Time.
Racing in a 15 knot northerly winds, and starting from Kuruçesme, the 55 boat fleet contested a looped course that went as far north as Anadolu Hiasari, and the impressive FSM Bridge, and south to Besiktas, with the finish line near Besiktas. The slower boats raced one loop, whereas the faster boats undertook three loops, lasting around three hours. Levent Peynirci and the crew of Nescafé Xpress Cheese, competing in IRC 0 were the first to finish the race on the water, as well on IRC Time Correction.
Istanbul, and its famous waterway that divides the city in two, is an amazing sailing stadium, unique in yacht racing and delivering a racetrack that favours the brave and skilled. A downwind start with spinnakers flying is a splendid sight in any circumstance. Within the narrow confines of the Bosphorus, the impression is magnified. As expected, the boats based locally showed great skill and expertise, in the face of the fast flowing currents and tricky wind patterns, to gain any advantage possible.
The frontrunners put on a tremendous display with the first four boat finishing within five minutes of each other, and only a minute separating Nescafé from the ClubSwan 42 Aboat Time from Bulgaria. The crew of Aboat Time had their hands full today, in their effort to secure a debut win either on the Bosphorus or across the regatta as a whole, where they needed at least seven boats between them and Rossko Racer. Petar Dimitrov's team did their best, but found themselves in competition with a committed fleet all looking for glory on the Bosphorus and not willing to give an outsider an easy time. They were also up against Rossko Racer, which had finished second overall last year, and were red-hot favourites for the Bosphorus Cup title this year.
According to Rossko's navigator Vadim Mihailov the Bosphorus Race was anything but straight-forward, and the crew kept its focus firmly on the primary goal of the regatta win: "Today was not an easy day for us. The Bosphorus is always unpredictable with its winds and currents. Our task today was to maintain our advantage and not take risks."
Even after a conservative start, when Rossko was distinctly second row across the line, it was impossible to avoid making any errors at all on the tight track. "At one point we were protested and had to make a decision whether to continue racing and risk the jury, or just take the penalty. We chose to make the turn. Aboat Time was far ahead of us, so we had to sail our own race."
The Bosphorus Race is much a spectacle for the local residents of Istanbul, tourists and sailing fans as it is a competition for the participants. This year's race was broadcast live on television and streamed across the event's YouTube channel. The finish line was deliberately positioned in front of the luxury hotels of Istanbul, and this has become one of the race's a trademarks. The fan zone created by the Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul hosted almost 30,000 people, while the VIP guests were feted at Feriye Palace, which also hosted the fabulous prize-giving ceremony where the class winners received their handcrafted trophies and medals, supplied by event sponsor Gorbon Ceramics.