Final push comes good for Swedes

As Martin Strandberg and Johan Örtendahl, pip the French to the post in the Archipelago Raid

The Archipelago Raid 2009 finished today with Swedish team Thule coming out the winners. Martin Strandberg and Johan Örtendahl made an extraordinary final effort to claim first prize. They won every leg in the last two days of the Raid and caught up with their toughest rivals - Citus, the French duo of Eric Proust and Romain Motteau, who won the event last year. Third was Audio Network, the British pairing of Will Sunnucks and Simon Farren, whose chance of victory slipped away yesterday after they struck the rocks.

Strandberg and Örtendahl scored 258 points, five more than their French rivals, winning five legs out of ten, missing out on podium places on only two legs.

Thule was really determined to catch up with Citus today. The French team was three points ahead in the overall standings this morning, and could have been the first crew to win two Raids in a row. But Thule wanted the trophy back for a Swedish team, and they won both legs today as they did yesterday, only being second in the first Checkpoint.

“It was fantastic, a really tough race. Eric (Proust, Citus) was sailing so well so we had to put 200 per cent to beat him,” an ecstatic Strandberg commented at the finish at the At Sea complex in Lidingö island. “For me the toughest moment mentally was when we crossed to Aland. We made such a big mistake and we went to the Checkpoint that was cancelled and we lost a lot of places. I thought it was over, because Eric was sailing so well so losing 8 points there was tough, really tough.” But then they had two perfect days. “You can’t finish better than this. I think is just an ultimate sailing race. You’ve got everything: nature, sailing, navigation, tactics… everything,” the Swedish skipper concluded.

Team Thule wasn´t the only happy team today. Among the teams who enjoyed the event most were Team Cobalt, made up of Britons Luke Yeats and Matthew Humphreys, who finished the best as the best rookies and eighth overall. “This has been probably the best organized event I’ve ever sailed at. We had all the organization boats with us all the time and getting all the tents and food arranged in the middle of nowhere and having almost thirty boats through a very complicated course…it was really worth the tough moments.” They, and the Archipelago Raid, will return next year.

Results:

1. THULE (Martin Strandberg/Johan Örtendahl) 258
2. Citus (Eric Proust/Romain Motteau) 252
3. Audio Network ( William Sunnucks/Simon Farren) 235.5
4. McDonalds - Huysman (Demesmaeker/ Pr 219
5. Team Garmin (John Bäck/Gustav Morin) 210.5
6. Hållsten-Torlen(Martin Hållsten/Kalle Torlen) 195
7. Bourgnon-Gauthier (Yvan Bourgnon/Pierre Gauthier) 192
8. Team Cobalt (Luke Yeates/Matt Humphreys) 178
9. Team Blue (Conrad Humphreys/Ryan Crawford) 165
10. Audi (Anders Lewander/Hanse Thorslund) 161
11. RockStaRR (Richardson/McHugh) 148
12. GB Glace (Karin Almquist/Fredrik Aurell) 143
13. Rogue Sailors (Berensson/Blomberg) 136
14. BOHICA (Thomas Johansson/ Brad Marsh) 134
15. EffetFenouil (Samuel Vionnet/Andreas Schuler) 134
16. Ursuit (Matti Nieminen/ Mikko Nieminen) 97
17. Tacktick SUUNTO (David Scully/Claire Bailey) 96
18. Team w4 (Michael Walther/Marcus Mattis) 95
19. SWE 49 (Fredrik Karlsson/Ricard Miedel) 86
20. Team Piano (Agne Nilsson/Jason Field) 69
21. Team Premiere Global Services (Grünert/Gravdal) 68
22. FGporsche (Francis Proot/Simon Van Ack 68
23. Black or White (Maurizio Vettorato/Andrea Gancia) 64
24. SWE 558 (Ola Persson/Michael Persson) 49
25. WIPAK (Janne Riihelä/Nora Eskola) 40
26. SWE 042 (Micael Edler/Martin Åkerlund) 39

Conrad Humphreys reports from Team Blue:

Our love affair with the Archipelago Raid came to a close yesterday, at least for another year. The pain of the last few days subsided as we hobbled across the finish line off Lindingo.

The previous six days raiding now seem like a blur, but the blisters on the hands, the bruises on the knees and the broken daggerboards are the evidence of another enduring event.

A mixed result overall, we came with high hopes of repeating our 2008 result, where perhaps a more conservative approach yielded a strong closing performance. This year we took too many risks and were not on top of our navigation, which resulted in broken daggerboards. To win this event you need to balance the risk. I think we pushed to hard at times.

This event is for me still the highlight of the sailing calender. It produces amazing friendships between competitors, who are drawn from all over the world to test themselves. It is brilliantly organised by Christine Salen and the Atlant team who understand how to push the boudaries of sailing and the limits of the sailors

The real magic of the event is that over the six days you are forced to make good with what you have. It's a wonderful metaphor for today's world where we must learn to be more resourceful. Onboard you carry just enough food and spares and if you break something you find a way to fix it.

It is also an event that perfectly complements the ambitions of the Blue Project. It is a "quest through nature" with every competitor experiencing the breath taking surroundings of the Archipelago through the power of extreme sport.