...one word that perfectly sums up YYachts’ new 90-footer. However to that you must then add blindingly stylish both inside and out and supremely comfortable in every respect

When Michael Schmidt was looking for a large yacht for himself a few years ago, he couldn't find any format on the market - either new or used - that even came close to meeting his rather high demands. It had to be 80 feet, easy to handle, with no vulnerable components and, of course, look as good as possible. Most people in this position would explain their ideas to a designer and commission a shipyard to build this single solution. But Schmidt – ex-Admiral's Cup winner, ex-head of one of the world's largest production boatyards and, in general, one of the most creative minds the German sailing scene has ever produced – would not be Schmidt if he did not generate a business idea from it. And so he built the 80-foot-long Cool Breeze – as a start-up, so-to-speak, and initially with a fairly manageable team.

The fact that this, with a design by Lorenzo Argento (exterior) and David Chipperfield (interior), was very well received by potential customers was not entirely surprising. Schmidt was thinking like a customer, not a CEO. He had identified a gap in the market and started building a new shipyard immediately after the delivery of Cool Breeze and at an age when other people are actually enjoying their retirement. In the meantime, after a good six years at high speed, a doubledigit number of yachts has already been delivered with construction stretching well into 2024. The YYachts brand is making an international splash in a segment that is actually under pressure.

Meanwhile, after delivering some 70 and 80-footers, the company has already entered the 90-foot yacht segment. In 2021, the custom-built Prevail, with an exterior design by Bill Tripp and an interior design by Andrew Winch, was delivered to an American customer, and in July the shipyard launched its second 90-footer. Bella is thus the first Y9 to join the Y7 and Y8 series. The world premiere was celebrated at the Cannes Yachting Festival.

Lightweight masterpiece
‘The yard’s new flagship Y9 is born from the ambitious idea of building a lightweight masterpiece of craftsmanship following the company’s philosophy to reduce sailing to its essentials and serving all customers’ needs,’ says Dirk Zademack, managing director of YYachts

Below: The interior of Bella was jointly developed by two design studios: Norm Architects and Design Unlimited

‘With a length of 29.71m, the Y9 presents – due to clever construction and transverse garage aft – the same volume as a 100ft yacht with a private owners’ apartment to offer maximum privacy, comfortable guest cabins and a large and flexible crew area. The exterior design and naval architecture was drawn by Bill Tripp while the interior is the result of styling by Norm Architects and the experience of Design Unlimited.

‘Like all YYachts models the Y9 is built completely from carbon fibre, optimising performance and making her extremely competitive. With her length of 90ft, the yacht has an interesting rating and is for sure able to win some trophies at the St Barth’s Bucket, the Superyacht Cup or the Maxi Rolex Cup,’ Zademack says.

Designer Bill Tripp shares his thoughts about the Y9

When Michael Schmidt and I first talked he asked for a boat that you would immediately want to sail at first sight, that embodies modern beauty, simplicity performance and ease of use, along with the capability to go anywhere.

Michael identified that many yachts in the 70–100ft range are built as a one-off and there was an opportunity to present a world class yacht built in series through process engineering. We have worked with MSY to design a series of boats that are constructed from the best materials in a production process that is based on the assembly of parts already finished outside of the boat. This increases the ease of making a highly finished boat with a level of flexibility in the configuration of the spaces. The result is a high-end series built production boat that is not only appealing, but obtainable.

Our thought is to also attract new people to the sport and to tug people out of powerboats into something far more interesting. The overarching principle is to keep the boat easy to use. Thus we have designed a boat that can comfortably be sailed by a few people. Equipped with a self-tacking jib, hydraulic furling code sail and staysail, these boats can sail well in blue water in the worst conditions and have light air performance to attract the keenest of sailors. The boats have two engines, a bow and stern thruster and joystick controls, making it easy to manoeuvre both when docking and sailing.

They are built with identical structures in carbon/epoxy composite with twin rudders and fixed or telescoping keels. They cover a range of displacements with constant vertical and longitudinal centres of gravity, and bulbs and rig sizes designed and built to match the displacement and stability. The result is that the boats are well balanced between performance and luxury.

The first Y9 semi-custom result, Bella, evolved somehow from Prevail, a custom Tripp 90 built by YYachts. She is somewhat heavier because she is equipped with a hydro generation package from Oceanvolt, a large hard top bimini with 14sq m of solar panels, and an extensive battery package. These features will allow the boat to generate fossil fuel free energy both when sailing and moored.

I have no interest in designing boats that are cluttered or slow. The flared topsides allow for great deck spaces and added stability, a win-win that leads to a better boat. The hull shape is optimised for 15 degrees of heel which is the most typical when globe-trotting. This is also a good average for café racing as well as distance racing. The boat has a high prismatic form for highspeed ocean sailing, with a large sail plan that also makes sailing in six knots of breeze a realistic pleasure, a low centre of gravity to carry the sail plan and a moderate LCB location to improve sea keeping in waves. The shape, while generally of a dinghy oriented lineage, is modified for sea-keeping and reduced slamming. The hull’s beam to depth ratio (known as BTR) is low to keep the hull shape from being a frying pan upwind in big ocean waves. The bow is finer than some for the same reason and keeping the prismatic high while doing this, and the LCB from going aft was a challenge that appealed to us.

Designing a luxury yacht for extended series production is a unique task for a naval architect and means we must design the boat so that it can have different features in keeping with a client’s needs as well as be able to sail ably in different configurations to suit the owner’s mission. With a total of five different cabin configurations, the Y9 has something for everyone interested in this size boat. The next delivery will be a raised saloon version with its own personality yet the same DNA. The latest hull shapes combine more usable volume with speed. The flared topsides allow for great deck spaces and added stability, a win-win that leads to a better boat.

This balanced combination of speed, reliability and comfort is ideal for an owner seeking a world cruising boat that will be fast in the fun regattas that have ascended in the last decade, at a price point that is unbeatable in today’s market.

According to Zademack, several discussions with owners were decisive for the development of the Y9: ‘Actually, customers were interested in 100ft in length. However, from this size upwards in my experience yachts become disproportionately expensive because many custom-built components have to be installed. With our expertise, we have therefore implemented the comfort of a 100ft yacht on a length of 90ft. With our new Y9 we are entering the superyacht segment,’ he explains.

Below: The ‘soft minimalist’ design philosophy extends into the heads

Happy crew, happy owner
The Y9 generates an incomparable volume due to her transversely arranged tender garage in the stern and even has a separate owner's apartment which consists of a private office, a dressing room, a bedroom and a bathroom with double washbasin including a separate shower and a separate toilet. A maximum of privacy is guaranteed, which the owner can enjoy with family or close friends. Great importance was also given to the design of the crew area. As it is an unwritten law in yachting “happy crew, happy owner", the crew cabins on the Y9 have been designed extra-large, with well thought-out storage space and an additional crew lounge. The captain's cabin can be converted into a saloon during the day, for example – cabins on the Y9 do not have to have a single predefined purpose.

Following this concept, the interior layout options can be customised with the YYachts design department to satisfy all customers’ desires and to preserve the exclusive style of the boat. YYachts offers no fewer than five different layouts for the Y9. And it is available on request as a Pilot Saloon version and as a Y9 Custom with almost unlimited freedom of choice when it comes to design.

Above and below: The interior layout options can be customised to satisfy customers’ desires while preserving the exclusive style of the boat

The interior of Bella was jointly developed by two design studios. Norm Architects from Copenhagen, Denmark and Design Unlimited from Lymington, UK, combined their architectural and yachting experience and created a Scandinavian elegant look for the Y9 that follows the principle of "soft minimalism" – oiled oak and grey fabrics and panels determine the colour palette. Katrine Goldstein, managing director of Norm Architects, says: ‘The Y9 already follows the award-winning Y7 in its design but is much more complex and goes deeper. The Y9 will also be a luxurious retreat to get away from the constant stimulation that our everyday lives bring. To support an overall exclusive look and feel throughout the interior, only essential yet thoughtful, luxurious bespoke elements take up space where needed, to achieve a pared back interior with room for the life lived within. The wood panelled walls and curved interior elements in oak add a warm, organic feel to the space, while optically stretching the space vertically to make the rooms appear more spacious. Sliding doors and inbuilt storage effortlessly blend in with the architectural framework of the boat, with no disruptive elements.’ Mark Tucker, founder of Design Unlimited adds: ‘Clients will appreciate the authenticity of our design and the sustainable materials we recommend. People are increasingly orienting themselves towards nature: taking from nature and giving back to nature. This principle is particularly pervasive in the luxury market.’ Great importance was also attached to a quiet yacht. To achieve this, YYachts engaged the noise consultants from Van Cappellen. ‘You sleep like a baby on board’, comments Dirk Zademack.

26 knots to Cannes
On deck, the Y-flagship pleases with its sheer walkways and the division of the cockpit areas. Guests are accommodated in front while the crew works aft. The mainsheet is nowhere to be found. It is centred on the bimini top and hidden in the Park Avenue main boom. To adjust or set the sails all it takes is the push of a button, which is why such a 29.7m cruiser can even be sailed by two people. Its performance potential is impressive: the hull speed is beyond 12 knots. The mainsail alone measures 242m2 of sail area, the upwind sailing area is 456m2 and the total sail area 1052m2. On the delivery passage, speeds of 26 knots were reached. From Greifswald to Cannes took only 11 days, up to 240nm were covered in 24 hours. A crew of four was necessary; in cruising and owner mode, two crew members – captain and stewardess – will usually be permanently on board.

Below: Unlike nearly all other yachts of 90ft or above, the Y9 is conceived and designed for semi-custom producion

Catamaran as tender
According to the captain of Bella we should definitely take a look down at the stern. That's where the new dinghy would be, freshly arrived from the shipyard. The Y-tender stands on its steering wheel. Like the mother ship, it is built of carbon composite and weighs just 170kg at a length of 3.65m and 230kg at a length of 4.35m. Designed as a catamaran, the Y-tender is stable in the water and its hydrodynamics make it very efficient under way. It is available with both a conventional outboard and an electric drive; both can be retracted, allowing the Y-tender to land directly on the beach. Its layout is designed to be flexible, as is the equipment. The Y-Tender's air hose can be emptied or filled in just 45 seconds. When empty, this reduces the width of the tender by 30cm, resulting in a better pack size. The necessary electric pumps are integrated into the Y-tender. The dinghy is built entirely in Germany, ensuring a high level of vertical integration. YYachts' keep-it-simple philosophy also applies here: a yacht must be reduced to what is necessary without restricting comfort.

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When the first ClubSwan 80 made its racing debut at Porto Cervo in September more than a few of those most closely involved were collectively holding their breath. They need not have worried...

When Nautor Swan announced their new ClubSwan 80 at the Düsseldorf Boat Show in 2020 they knew they had set themselves an ambitious goal. But what they and indeed everyone else hadn’t predicted was the arrival of a global pandemic that would turn the world on its head. Almost two years later and with the ClubSwan 80 afloat and with early results from the racecourse now declared, the project is still raising eyebrows and the reasons are clear.

This is a stunningly good looking, high-performance carbon racer, but one that has also been created to be a strict owner-driven one-design. These are factors that place her in a category of her own from the start, but there’s more. This is a carbon composite rocket ship that can be reconfigured in hours to be a performance cruiser, capable of being sailed shorthanded. And even then, with all this in mind, the final key objective is arguably the boldest, to ensure that she can fight it out with the best in a handicap fleet.

It’s difficult to imagine a tougher design brief, but as one of the longest running and best-known luxury boatbuilding companies in the world with a reputation for delivering, Swan’s size and experience is frequently their trump card. Having said that, they also knew that one of the biggest challenges they would face was not something that they could necessarily control, the owners themselves.

While others rave about the ‘new’ crossover between automotive and America’s Cup technology, one of Italy's most respected engineering institutions has been hard at it for years. The ClubSwan80 ‘My Song’ the latest beneficiary of that hard won experience…

To the majority of us, if you ask the question “where would you find the most refined carbon fibre structures?”, the answer would probably be motorsport or aerospace applications. However, long before any of these sectors embraced composite structures fully, the marine industry had found a home for the growing choices of materials and was pushing the boundaries. Persico Marine stepped into the field once the use of composites was well established and continues to push these boundaries. Not only in the marine field, but anywhere the benefits of a precisely assembled and consistently manufactured solution is needed and where tolerances are tight and failure is not an option.

To many, the idea of a boatbuilding facility cradled in the heart of the foot hills of the Alps, 200 kilometres from the nearest place to launch a yacht (excluding the alpine lakes!) seems crazy. But Persico Marine remains closely tied to the rest of the Persico Group, be that automotive, aerospace, rotomoulding, or architectural, the group grows and learns together. This also allows cross-pollination within the group and an exchange of ideas.

Advantages of automation

In the 1990s to 2000s, the perfection-seeking America’s Cup teams gradually moved away from established boatbuilding companies to a world of dedicated and specialist teams, handpicked and airlifted into a bespoke facility to build one or two boats and then ship their tools to the next project on the next continent. Persico Marine knew that the only way to reverse that trend, and continue improvements, was to show that exactly what had happened in car manufacturing could also happen in the marine world.

Here it is important to keep in mind that automated production is not all about high numbers. It is about it being perfect every time, whether that is only the first and second time, or the 1 millionth time. Persico Marine have the experience and knowledge of the Persico Group behind them, experience, accuracy and repeatability brought to bear in the Volvo Ocean 65 one design and ever since,

Foresight and planning is critical to success in manufacturing perfection. The design process has to consider the manufacturing processes. If the engineering drawings are completed with a handmade, artisan product in mind, then the gains from automated production are not there. Henry Ford did not succeed because the Model-T was built by the best coachbuilders of its time, it was because it was designed to be built on a production line. Had it been built in the standard methods of the day, the workforce would probably have redesigned it on their work benches, or walked out

Above: The more complex the component, the greater the benefits of automation

Where the default approach is often in steel or concrete, Persico Marine adds a further dimension to the mix. And the expertise is not limited to things that float, or these days fly above the water. Persico Marine actively encourages all to think of other areas where composites may be the best solution. The benefits of composites go much further than simply making the same item lighter. In an architectural sense, it allows for far more elegant solutions, and more ergonomic and flowing aesthetics. Suddenly, cantilevered platforms are stretching further from the supports and complex inter-twining and compound curved roof beams allow for striking roof lines whilst not only keeping the structure light, but also managing costs where the equivalent steel or wooden structure would take considerably more hours and material to achieve. Using CNC machined tooling, the limits on the shapes of composite structures is constrained more by ideas than solutions.

On the smaller scale, manufacturing in composites also has the benefits of precision. Where laminate thicknesses are measured to the tenth of a millimetre and tooling is manufactured to the same level, resulting components can be constructed to a highly accurate degree and remain extremely strong.

Current customers include NASA and the University of Polimi for whom they are making a telescope and a rocket respectively…

‘We have been working with Media Lario S.r.l. on a very exciting project,’ says Marcello Persico. ‘Construction and milling of steel spider, production and assembling of composite plates and camera support in CFRP (carbon fibre reinforced plastic) with related machining OF ASTHTROS, a highaltitude balloon mission from the NASAJet Propulsion Laboratory for the study of astrophysical phenomena.

‘Short for Astrophysics Stratospheric Telescope for High Spectral Resolution Observations at Submillimeterwavelengths, the ASTHROS telescope is a high-performance 2.5-metre telescope that in 2023 will be carried to the edge of space via a stratospheric balloon. Its launch is scheduled in December 2023 from Antarctica and it will be the largest telescope ever flown on a highaltitude balloon.

‘The telescope is in fact composed of a 2.5-metre parabolic antenna, and a series of mirrors, lenses and detectors designed and optimised to capture light in the far infrared, that is at wavelengths much longer than those visible to the human eye. To do this, it will be transported by a balloon about 150 metre wide at an altitude of about 40 kilometers, a height that will allow it to observe the wavelengths of light, blocked by the Earth's atmosphere.

‘For this project, we have put in play the extensive experience, garnered over the years, in developing and constructing added-value aluminium, titanium and carbon equipment for the manufacture of civilian and military satellite components,’ Marcello Persico concludes.

Ever since the America’s Cup moved into the foiling world, (now approaching a decade ago believe it or not) the chatter about the growing similarities between the America’s Cup and Formula One has only got louder. Looking ahead to the 2024 event, and it seems that a link between the two is all but a must for the teams. However, the transfer of knowledge and information between the automotive industry and the yachting world is not new to everyone. The company grew during the era when automotive production moved from artisan to mass production to mass excellence. The Persico Group grew with it, developing and adapting all the time.

Many would think that as car-making moved from the near bespoke, artisan work of highly skilled coachbuilders to automated systems, an element of refinement would be lost along with that touch of detail and precision. However, the Persico Group was there as the opposite was seen. To get mass production right, you cannot afford to discard sub-quality components, or rework mistakes. Every item off the automated production line has to be as perfect as the last, and the next. The only way to do this is to tighten tolerances and build to higher levels of exactness than the best artisan coachbuilder ever could.

Above: The ASTHROS telescope Persico technology headed to the edge of space

Automated marine production
In the early years of this century production boats and bespoke raceboats were all being built by teams of boatbuilders with every step in the process relying on hand manufacturing processes. Persico had been here before, but now had the experience of designing and manufacturing fully automated production line equipment for the vast majority of the European and American-based car companies. The company has unequalled experience in developing equipment to take a few coloured bags of polymer pellets at one end of a machine and turn out identical, complex car parts at the other, with no artisan in sight. Not only are the fake stitches on the trim of the fake leather always perfectly aligned, but the plush texture and creases in the leather never reveals a flaw or scar.

Clients come to Persico Marine for their reputation of manufacturing the most complex of high-end composite parts reliably and consistently. CNC machines are no longer used just to manufacture moulds, but also to trim components, drill for fastenings and precisely locate joints. Plotters are used to cut materials and now ATLs (Automatic Tape Layers) robots are being used to laminate parts. Every step of the process is now seeing automation as a viable solution.

Below: Targeting 80+ knots - the Swiss kite powered SP80, a fascinating approach to achieving next level performance

All this experience, as well as that gained from the Persico 69F International Class – which entered the New York Yacht Club Race Week in Newport with six crews - and the development of the Persico Fly40, has allowed Persico Marine to adopt these automated processes for the next generation of Imoca boats. These increasingly complicated yachts are now the true pinnacle of the offshore and ocean racing world. That focus increases the scrutiny on detail and quality.

With LinkedOut, Persico proved beyond any doubt that they have the necessary skills and knowledge to produce a fast, yet strong and consistently reliable yacht. They are now using that same basic design, with some specific upgrades, for their newest Imoca build. However, this yacht will employ a lot more of the automated processes in manufacture than has been done previously for a oneoff. This allows them to reduce the build time where ATL and CNC do not need to take holidays, but most of all it allows for unlimited precision and accuracy. The old adage of measure twice and cut once also doesn’t apply to these machines. The result of using trailblazing machinery such as the ATL robot, nicknamed Lola, is unparalleled quality, a new and higher standard, one step ahead in terms of building and construction.

With ever-higher quality and control processes in place, reducing the human factor, and ensuring that items are built from the same file they are designed with, Persico is looking to further improve their own and their client’s confidence in their knowledge of what each item is absolutely capable of. With this increased confidence comes the ability to design that into the component from the start, taking a lot of the guess work out of load limits and safety factors, reducing excess and excess weight whilst retaining the levels of strength and reliability desired.

With LinkedOut, Persico proved that it could produce a fast yet strong and consistently reliable Imoca 60.

One step further
Persico will also be taking this a step further this year with another Imoca project, focussing on simplicity and efficiency. To win the Vendée Globe you don’t need the highest top speed, you need the highest average. Here, along with the client and designer, Persico is starting afresh with a design that is focussed on a high average speed that doesn’t rattle the teeth out of the sailors’ mouths, but from concept is also to be built using Persico’s automated approach. The plan is that developing this into a highly accurate series build at a good cost point can be realised. With this and the Fly40, Persico is looking to be able to turn the marine industry on its head and move closer to the automotive industry, where a production boat can be built to as high, if not higher quality and reliability than a bespoke build by the best team of guys you can muster. Reducing unnecessary materials by increasing accuracy makes absolute sense, even from an environmental sustainability point of view. That is only achievable through automation, which is Persico Group’s bread and butter.

In the next 12 months we may see a manufacturing revolution in the top end of the marine industry. There are those who say they used to love the lofting process from a set of offsets, and hand making tools from a stack of wood. But their knees see that as nothing more than nostalgia.

New projects
Persico Marine has presented many interesting novelties in recent months. ‘Recently we saw two of our most innovative projects side by side in the water for the first time: the brand new ClubSwan80, a magnificent sailboat, and the Persico60' a cutting-edge motoryacht’, explains Marcello Persico. ‘The eternal competition between wind and engine, both designed by two of the most renowned naval architects, the ClubSwan80 by Juan Kouyoumdjian, the Persico60’ by Germán Mani Frers. The Persico60’ is a unique “toys carrier fast powerboat”, a perfect day-boat where six to 12 guests can motor 45knts safely, bringing along two large jet-skis, a couple of sea bobs and SUPs, while being also able to relax and stay connected to the world thanks to the info-tainment system on the 55” screen. It’s an evolution of the classical tender, a “shadow” yacht, agile, versatile and fast.

Below: The new Fly40 foiler takes Persico’s automated manufacturing approach to the next level. This is a boat that couldn’t be built by hand, not even by the world’s best boatbuilders

‘Each of these boats is unique in concept, style, and development. We have spent months of effort and dedication, proudly arriving at the final result.’

That’s not all, as Persico Marine has announced a partnership with the worldrenowned design studio Zagato that will bring to the market the very first hyperboat.

‘The ultimate advance-composite technology, the design and finishing of a million-euro supercar and a new propulsion that looks and definitely is more similar to that of a jet plane, and it glides on water in total silence… it will be hyper in every detail,’ says Marcello Persico.

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The first Baltic Sea Race which took place this summer was an instant success... not so much a classic in the making but a classic already

The idea of a new 635-mile race in The Baltic Sea was the brainchild of the Ocean Racing Alliance. At the core of the Finnish organisation are three passionate RORC sailors: Jan Paukkunen, Sakari Kalske and Ari Känsäkoski, who have all competed in the Rolex Fastnet Race and RORC Caribbean 600. ORA proposed a race, starting and finishing in Helsinki, and approached the Royal Ocean Racing Club to organise it.

On 21 July 2022 that idea became reality when more than 200 sailors including all of the ORA founders, crossed the start line of the inaugural Roschier Baltic Sea Race. Sailors from 18 different nations took part. Teams from Poland, Germany, Sweden and Finland won honours in the race, with a fairy tale overall victory for the smallest boat.

Deciding on the course for the race required complex analysis with the objective of producing a safe and challenging race. Generally, the course is an anticlockwise circuit of the Baltic Sea with the rarity of rounding three lighthouses as well as the Swedish island of Gotland. The proximity of land at all of the marks of the course provided strategic options and the lack of strong tides prevented the course from becoming one-sided.

Main picture: the VO70 GP Bullhound was third to cross the finish line of the Roschier Baltic Sea Race. High pressure and light winds dominated in this inaugural edition of the race.
Below: two of the organisers, Finnish RORC / ORA members Sakari Kalske and Ari Känsäkoski

The northern hemisphere had one of the hottest summers on record and as with many sailing regattas, high pressure dominated the Roschier Baltic Sea Race. This weather scenario produced a number of light wind restarts during the race. With winners being decided under the IRC Rule, a reason first for such a high-profile race, the results couldn’t have been close for such a diverse range of boats and conditions. Ultimately, a fast downwind component, on the final leg to Helsinki, gave the smaller boats the final twist in a highly competitive race.

Finnish H-323 Silver Moon II, skippered by Salla Kaven won the 2022 Roschier Baltic Sea Race having scored the best time after IRC correction. There was a standing ovation for the Finnish amateur crew as they received the Baltic Sea Race trophy. Since they were children, the Kaven family have raced the 9.9 metre sloop on Lake Päijänne in Southern Finland. In the past, Silver Moon had won many local races in the Baltic, but to win against professional international competition, racing modern offshore boats was an impressive victory. All of the Silver Moon crew work in social care; a teacher, a nurse, an ambulance driver and a firefighter. The crew of Silver Moon II: Salla Kaven, Heidi Ekholm, Kari Itkonen, Jorma Kaven, Jouni Kaven.

‘I am speechless, just so happy, we never thought we could win this race. It was great sailing, and everything went well, but even when we crossed the line, I didn’t believe it,’ says Salla Kaven. ‘The message to all the amateur sailors out there is - you can do it if you want to; do what you love.’

The race for line honours was constantly swapping between three teams: VO65 Ambersail 2 skippered by American Clarke Murphy, VO70 GP Bullhound sailed by Per Roman, and I Love Poland. All had victory in sight during the race, but in the final few miles, an astonishing light airs battle saw Tilmar Hansen’s German TP52 Outsider catch up 30 miles to join the race for line honours. I Love Poland crossed the finish line just 700 metres ahead of Outsider after 72 hours of racing. GP Bullhound was less than an hour behind. Ambersail 2 finished fourth, after at one stage having an 18-mile lead.

I Love Poland, owned by the Polish National Foundation and sailed by a young crew, skippered by Grzegorz Baranowski, crossed the finish line to win the Bobby Lowein Wheel for monohull line honours. The elapsed time of three days, 27 minutes, 37 seconds is the monohull race record.

‘The plan was to fight to the end and it was exactly that. There were a few wind holes, but we crossed the line first and we are delighted. When I look at the names on this trophy, we are so proud that ours will go with them. I am even more proud of my young crew who are trying their best to go forward. Thank you to the organisers of this race, it has been a privilege to compete in the first Roschier Baltic Sea Race,’ says Grzegorz Baranowski.

The Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt (HVS) Carkeek 47 Störtebeker was skippered by Torben Muehlbach for the race. The young German team came so close to winning overall but in the end came third. Störtebeker did win IRC Zero, beating Tilmar Hansen’s Outsider and the largest boat in the race, Kenneth Bjoerklund’s CNB 76 Enderpearl. The HVS was established in Hamburg, Germany in 1903 to develop young sailors in offshore racing.

Below: Helsinki is the start and finish of the 635-mile race.

‘Everyone on board learned more and that was our goal, and we are so proud to have beaten the famous Outsider team,’ says Torben Muehlbach. ‘This new course is very interesting with many different conditions. It is so nice to rely on the RORC to organise the race, we have complete confidence in their management. Above all we had fun and that will continue for the HVS.’

Teams from Sweden, Finland and Great Britain filled the IRC One podium. Swedish Farr 400 Wetjob, skippered by Niclas Heurlin was the winner. Arto Linnervuo’s Finnish XP 44 Xtra Staerk was second and the first boat from Finland to cross the line and Ed Bell’s British JPK 1180 Dawn Treader was third.

‘This is our home turf and RORC organises great races so that is why we jumped on the train from the beginning,’ explains Wetjob’s Niclas Heurlin. ‘We were incredibly happy with our win against really good opposition. For us this was a very long race; 650 miles is a challenge, so that was inspiring.’

Below: the course takes the fleet around Gotland and back to Helsinki.

‘I am really proud of the Xtra Staerk team for being the first Finnish team to cross the line,’ says Arto Linnervuo. ‘This race has attracted international teams, that takes Finnish offshore sailing to a higher level and that is my aim. The race helps the whole offshore racing community to thrive in the Baltic and we are all better together.’

Paer Lindfors, racing with Nadine Kugel, was celebrating his birthday as Team Mobline finished the race winning IRC Two-Handed . The 33ft sloop was designed in 1981 by Peter Norlin. About 500 have been built and there is an active Albin Nova Class in Sweden. The Albin Nova is not designed to any rule, just as a perfect all-round cruising boat; the boat has clean lines with no strange features. The design sails well in light and heavy wind.

Below: the Swedish Farr 400 Wetjob, skippered by Niclas Heurlin was the winner in IRC One

‘It was a great race with fantastic conditions to the finish,’ explains Paer Lindfors. ‘During the last night we had our big spinnaker up which may have been too much sail, but it held and Nadine scored the topspeed record. Helsinki is a fantastic city with great cafes and restaurants and the race itself is a great course. Starting and finishing in Helsinki you go straight out to the open ocean. The communication with the race management team was perfect. We would definitely encourage other teams to come to race in 2024’.

RORC race director Chris Stone said after the race: ‘The Baltic Sea can throw everything at you and safety is always a first stop for any RORC race. Everybody got home safely with no problems at all; that is always the best outcome. A lot of thought went into the course and this time, the back-markers had 300 miles of downwind racing to the finish. However, the weather is so changeable in the Baltic, it could well be different next time.’

The second edition of the Roschier Baltic Sea Race will take place in the summer of 2024. Leading law firm Roschier have committed to title sponsorship the next edition. Tremendous credit should go to the official race supporters and hard-working volunteers in Helsinki. The race is supported by the City of Helsinki, the Nyländska Jaktklubben (NJK), Finnish Ocean Racing Association (FORA), Helsingfors Segelklubb (HSK), FINIRC and the Xtra Stærk Ocean Racing Society.

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