And they're off

The Archipelago Raid is underway with Team Thule taking the first leg

In a tight battle over the start line, 22 small catamarans set off in the heart of Stockholm for the eighth edition of the gruelling Archipelago Raid. Formula 18-specialist Eric Proust and his partner Romain Motteau on Team Kalix from France were first over the line, but the fleet kept close together when heading to the first checkpoint.

In eight knot winds and overcast skies the brave teams of two shot off in their Formula 18 catamarans for a six day and five night long sailing orienteering race in the wild and beautiful landscapes of the Stockholm, Åland and Finnish archipelago. It was a varied line up to be seen at the start with many impressive sailing CV’s in the teams; from big boat sailing to match racing, solo sailing, monohull and multihull sailing at high level. A mix of less known locals and international stars were present, like Ellen MacArthur and the Hobie Cat Champion Eric Proust, back for his fourth time.

Solo sailor Conrad Humphries on Team Blue Oceans (UK) is back for the second time and was looking forward to starting the race: “We're very excited, it's nice to be here. The Raid is a beautiful combination between race and environment, which are my two passions. It's good to be here for the second time, we know more or less what to expect, we're more prepared.”

Throughout the race there are several legs to complete with a number of checkpoints at each leg. The results are based on a points system determined by the arrival position of each leg with bonus points to the winner of each check point.

Today the competitors are sailing from the city centre of Stockholm to the island of Lido in the north-eastern part of the archipelago of Stockholm. During the day they shall complete two legs, passing five checkpoints. Match racing specialists Martin Sandberg and Johan Örtendahl on Team Thule managed to pass the French duo on Team Kalix and were first to complete the first leg of the day.

The teams will have a short night stop at Lido, hopefully getting in a couple of hours of sleep. The restart is set tomorrow morning at 03.00 to head off towards the autonomous islands of Åland, between Sweden and Finland, passing a 33 mile open stretch of the Baltic Sea.

Results:

Below are the positions of the 12 first boats after Leg 1/Day 1

1. Team Thule, Martin Strandberg & Johan Örtendahl - Swe
2. Team Kalix, Eric Proust & Romain Motteau - Fra
3. X-Leisure, William Sunnucks & Simon Farren - UK
4. Sundvalls Bygg, Fredrik Ekman & Gustav Tempelman - Swe
5. RBSC Huysman, Patrick Demesmaeker & Michel Proot - Bel
6. Team Garmin, John Bäck & Gustav Morin - Swe
7. SWE 558, Ola Person & Tomas Westergren - Swe
8. Team BLUE Oceans, Conrad Humphries & Ryan Crawford - UK
9. HH-Marin, Thomas Ekefalk & Carl Johan Söder - Swe
10. One Design Center, Martin Hållsten & Malcom Hanes - Swe
11. N-Group, Matti Nieminen & Mikko Nieminen – Fin
12. BT, Ellen MacArthur & Greg Homann - UK/Aus