Why the Aegean 600 is the coolest regatta of the moment

Set sail on Sunday, July 7, the Aegean 600, an exhilarating non-stop offshore race in the Aegean Sea with 69 crews entered this year. Also in the Maxi Yachts fleet are the MOD70 trimarans, the VOR65 and VOR70, as well as legendary skippers such as Torben Grael.

It is now a “classic” among the world’s finest 600-mile offshore races, and as proof of how much sailors like it, this year it broke records for entries. We are talking about theAegean 600, a dream no-stop regatta raced in Greece, which in its 4th edition has 69 crews participating aboard 64 monohulls and 5 multihulls.

Organized by the Hellenic Offshore Racing Club and supported by Olympic Marine and Rolex, the competition constitutes the penultimate event of the International Maxi Association’s (Ima) Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge 2023-24. This year also kicks off Ima’s first Mediterranean Maxi Multihull Challenge.

A journey through the majesty of the Greek islands

The fleet of participants will set sail at 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 7, for a 605-mile course that, as usual, loops a counterclockwise circumnavigation of the Aegean Sea. From below the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, the route heads southeast to the turning point of Kasos in the southwest, then turns north of Rhodes, meanders to the turning point of Agathonissi in the northeast, before turning west again to the finish of Cape Sounion. Along the way, the regatta touches numerous places of great beauty, history and mythology, including the Caldera of Santorini and beautiful Mykonos.

The challenge between Mod70s to break the record on the course

Competing for the line honors will be two trimarans of the MOD70 class: “Argo” of American Jason Carroll, a two-time Melges 32 world champion, and “Zoulou” under the command of Frenchman Erik Maris, former Mumm 30 world champion and European Swan 45 champion. Both multihulls have evolved with new sets of foils that now enable them to fly on water.

“The Aegean is an interesting race course, we had never done it before so we decided with Zoulou to try it,” said before the start Chad Corning, program manager of Argo who races aboard with a crew that includes multihull legends Brian Thompson, Paul Larsen and Loick Peyron. “With the right Meltemi we could easily close the course in 36 hours which would demolish the record of 45 hours and 5 minutes seconds set last year by Joost Schuijff’s 100-foot monohull “Leopard” 3,” Corning continued.

Also hunting for records on the race course is Bryon Ehrhart’s 88-footer “Lucky” (formerly “Rambler 88”). For the crew of “Lucky,” the Aegean 600 is the first outing with the new rig since the dismasting in last fall’s Rolex Middle Sea Race.

Also competing on the Aegean is Patrizio Bertelli with Torben Grael

Torben Grael, a former Volvo Ocean Race winning skipper, is also among the skippers in the fleet and a big fan of Greek waters. In 2004, he won his fifth Olympic medal and his second star-studded gold here. The Brazilian legend is at the helm of “Ulysses,” the 1972 20-meter Sangermani sloop owned by his former America’s Cup boss Patrizio Bertelli. The Prada patron is on board along with Grael and many other crew members from the first campaigns in the America’s Cup. There will also be an interesting competition between former Volvo Ocean Race yachts, including the VOR65 “Sisi” and Jens Dolmer’s VOR70 “L4/Trifork.” However, all eyes will be on local favorite and main supporter of Aegean 600, George Procopiou, and his VOR70 “Aiolos” (formerly “I Love Poland”).

Also worth keeping an eye on in IRC compensated time is Guido Paolo Gamucci’s canting-keel Mylius 60 “Cippa Lippa,” which competed here last year and has already competed in two of Ima’s MMOC events this season. Then there are Rainer Anders’ Ker 63 “La Pecadora,” with a crew from Costa Rica, and Philip Rann’s Swan 80 “Umiko,” with a largely South African crew, including solo round-the-world sailor JJ Provoyeur.

Italians competing in this 4th edition

Among the Italians competing is the innovative sailing multihull Rapido 53 XS (eXtra Space) by Aldo Fumagalli, an Italian engineer and former owner of the home appliance brand Candy and a huge sailing enthusiast, as well as the sport cruiser Bénéteau First 36, by Italian designer Lorenzo Argento. The latter had already taken part in the 2023 edition of the Aegean 600 and shared with the Journal of Sailing the fine account of that experience.

In short, dreamy scenery, great protagonists and boats among the most competitive on the international scene make the Aegean 600 an offshore race not to be missed!