A powerful Meltemi breeze delivered a dramatic start to the sixth AEGEAN 600 on Sunday, sending the 71-boat fleet racing south under reefed sails in 25 to 30 knots of wind.
Organised by the Hellenic Offshore Racing Club (HORC) and Olympic Marine, the 605-nautical-mile offshore race began beneath the Temple of Poseidon before competitors headed into the Aegean under bright skies and white-capped seas.
The Greek double-handed Dehler 30 Optimum 4 powers through the opening stages of the AEGEAN 600 in strong Meltemi conditions after the start beneath the Temple of Poseidon. Photo: Deea Buzdugan
Most crews started with reefed mainsails and small jibs before easing sail plans as the northerly breeze settled later in the day for the opening 62-mile leg towards Milos.
"The start this year will be windy, wet and exciting. We are super, super excited. It will be an epic day," said Austria's Julia Stelzl, skipper of the all-women's JPK 39 Phileas Fogg. "We were here last year, but this will be completely different for us. We now know the boat, we know the course, and we have trained a lot for this race," she said.
American skipper Russell Whitworth, racing the TP52 Final Final, expected heavy-weather sailing throughout the opening stages. "It looks pretty windy all the way to the eastern end of the course," he said. "We're preparing all of our heavy weather sails and making sure we have all our big breeze manoeuvres ready. Our goal is to protect the boat and make sure we get to the east side of the race course in one piece."
The Maxi fleet led the start, with Claudio Demartis's 90-footer Prosecco Doc Shockwave 3 and George Procopiou's Volvo 70 Aiolos quickly establishing themselves at the front.
After rounding the opening mark, both yachts exceeded 20 knots of boatspeed as they traded gybes on the race south. By late afternoon, Shockwave 3 had stretched her lead over Aiolos to around four miles as she approached Milos.
Maxi Match-Up – George Procopiou’s Greek Volvo Open 70 Aiolos (GRE 7738) and Sergio Giglio’s Italian ICE 80 Nice (ITA 4540) power through the opening stages of the AEGEAN 600 in strong Meltemi conditions. Photo: Alen Photography/Nikos Alevromytis
The next leg takes the fleet towards Santorini, where competitors will pass through the island's spectacular volcanic caldera before continuing east across the Aegean.
At 1900 local time, Aiolos held the overall IRC and Maxi corrected-time lead, while Gregor Stimpfl's Scuderia 65 Hagar V topped the overall ORC standings. Among the multihulls, Lynx led on both elapsed and corrected time. In the double-handed division, Colombre headed the IRC rankings, while Optimum 4 led under ORC.
The race can be followed throughout the week via the event's YB tracker, with daily analysis provided by offshore commentator Dobbs Davis.
