2003 Archipelago Raid

News about the long distance Formula 18 race through the Swedish and Finnish archipelago

The third running of the Archipelago Raid will take place 8-11 July in the archipelago of Stockholm and Finland. This is an extreme sailing competition blending sport, nature, endurance and adventure.

Today, the Archipelago Raid is the largest and most extreme orienteering sailing competition in the world taking in the spectacular archipelagos of Stockholm, Sweden, Aland, and Finland. Different to other sailing events it attracts some of the world’s best sailors. The two strong teams sail intensely for four days, day and night, on a Formula 18, along a unique course running among 100.000 rocks and islands, with 20-25 checkpoints on various islands.

The Stockholm, Aland and Finland Archipelagos, with their thousands of rocky outcrops are notoriously difficult areas to navigate, but equally provide an exceptional course through stunning landscapes. Endurance, adrenaline, speed, strategy, crazy navigation, organisation, planning, cold water and no sleep - the competitors need all of these to succeed.

Every year, the Archipelago Raid is organised around midsummer (end of June/beginning of July), when the nights are extremely short at 60degN where the race is run. Foreigners find the short, bright nights unique, and a totally different experience when navigating.

Competitors in the 2003 Archipelago Raid will come from a variety of sailing backgrounds and come from all over the world and will be announced in due course.