Epic racing

The 2024 edition of the Aegean 600 delivered both triumph and tragedy in very challenging conditions

The record turnout in 2024, challenging conditions and excellence in race and event management have cemented the reputation of the Aegean 600 as truly among the finest races in the world of offshore sailing.

The fourth edition featured a generous helping of both triumph and tragedy for all who came to meet the same challenge that Aegean mariners have faced for thousands of years in these beautiful, but sometimes tumultuous, crystal blue waters. While the sailing craft have certainly changed since ancient times, the Aegean 600 continued to offer the same challenge of navigation, seamanship and speed for the largest-ever fleet of 69 entries from 24 countries around the world who participated in this year’s event.

Main picture: the fleet got a fast start into the teeth of a strong north-westerly wind
Below: Cape Sounio looms above the start and finish line topped with the Temple of Poseidon

As with all editions of the Aegean 600, the event starts with the outstanding support provided by the organisers at the Hellenic Offshore Racing Club (HORC) and their venue partners at the world-class facilities at Olympic Marine in Lavrion, Attica, co-organisers of the race. Not only is this a full-service operation with an enormous modern marina for all sizes and types of vessels to meet their berthing needs, but it also has a complete array of maintenance, repair and fabrication facilities onsite to cater for every possible need of the racing and cruising sailor.

Other aspects of support for Aegean 600 participants at Olympic Marine include a certified Safety Seminar held in advance of the race to instruct on use of the equipment and techniques necessary to meet the standards for World Sailing’s Offshore Special Regulations Category 3 requirements, including liferafts. Even as these standards evolve, the race organisers continue to offer this with every edition so the information is current, relevant and informative.

Following the safety training the event offers an opportunity for teams to practice their boat handling and crew work in the Attica Warm-up Race, a short inshore race to provide an initial test for teams to get a small taste of what’s to come a few days later with the main event. This has proven popular for many teams who are often trying new crew, new sails or equipment, or new techniques while in the heat of battle in a fun afternoon race format.

Another fun feature offered by organisers is a tour offered to all participants of the land side venue at the starting line: the ancient Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio, the iconic symbol of the ancient Greece’s mastery of the sea. Whether looking up at this high above on the cliffs of the cape from onboard a raceboat, or looking down from here as a spectator of the fleet, there are few views more spectacular in all of offshore sailing.

‘The start area is amazing,’ says Sascha Schroeder, skipper of the Neo 430 Neomind (GER), a returning entry who finished third in IRC Overall and was also the overall ORC division winner. ‘Looking up at the temple with the breeze, the sun, the blue water – makes you get goosebumps for sure. It is one of the nicest places to start a race that I know.’

Above: the brilliantly designed course of the Aegean 600 presents a unique set of challenges to the teams who enter.

The primary attraction of the race is its unique course, designed by the experienced offshore sailors at HORC for their fellow sailors: a 605- mile odyssey that starts and ends at Cape Sounio after passing no less than 43 islands and islets on 14 legs throughout the Aegean Sea.

A description of this year’s race helps paint the picture, where the teams on all boats were challenged with conditions that ranged from dead calms to gale-force winds and thus provided a suitable test of skill for any offshore sailing team, professionals and amateurs alike.

The start on a cloudless Sunday afternoon was, as always, spectacular: with spectators lining the cliffs above Cape Sounio at the Temple of Poseidon as the fleet got off to a fast start in the teeth of the brisk prevailing northwesterlies, the famous Meltemi winds. In 15-20kts the two fastest boats in the fleet, the MOD 70 trimarans Argo (USA) and Zoulou (FRA), quickly sped off towards the first island rounding at Milos at amazing speeds of well over 20kts. This was the start of what would turn out to be an intense high-speed (and at times low-speed) match race between these two veteran teams who have been friends and rivals in races held all over the world in search of course records to break on their 70ft ocean greyhounds.

In these perfect downwind conditions the fastest monohulls were also not far behind as they transited the first gate on the course that lies through the spectacular caldera of Santorini - and only within the first several hours of the start. The remainder of the monohull fleet was also fast this year, with many making that transit in the morning hours of Monday in this unique scenic setting of outstanding volcanic beauty.

On the remainder of this downwind leg to the southern extent of the racecourse at Kassos, however, tragedy struck one entry: two crew members on board the Pogo 44 Heaven (FRA) fell overboard on Monday evening while struggling with their spinnaker, and while both were retrieved quickly one was severely hurt in the incident and succumbed to her injuries. News of this terrible accident devastated all participants in the event: sailors, organisers and fans. At the Awards Ceremony, held after a moment of silence and reflection on this incident, the HORC announced that it has commissioned a special commemorative remembrance award for next year’s race in honour of Ganna Konontchouk, the fallen crew on Heaven.

At the bottom of the course from Kassos to Karpathos, the fleet’s halcyon downwind journey turned more serious as the Meltemi accelerated to gale force in strength with accompanying huge seas. Usually this wind is at headsail reaching angles and is somewhat more manageable for most teams in that they can drive effectively in the big seas and reef sails safely and securely.

Below: perfect two-sail reaching at some point during the race is almost guaranteed

Yet the next hurdle that lay ahead in the lee of the next island, where Rhodes treated the fleet differently depending on their timing: the fast boats managed to slip through without serious delay, whereas the remainder of the fleet hit a wall of no wind at Limnos in the centre of the island. Some wiggled through at low speed while the progress of others ground to a halt, with many trapped to drift in circles for hours. Usually it paid to do the wiggling along the shore close to the beach or swinging out wide, away from the traps near the rhumb line.

The next phase of this race could be described as a slalom course around the islands of the eastern Aegean, with many islands and rocks to round while transiting back and forth, east to west, while generally heading northwards, before eventually heading west back towards Attica. This was a very tricky part of this course, where each island had its own twists and turns in the Meltemi that varied from calm to hectic.

‘I’m relieved we made it around this treacherous course, full of challenges at every turn,’ says Byron Ehrhart, skipper of the Juan K 27m Lucky (USA) that was the first-to-finish monohull in the IRC and Maxi Class. Referencing this portion of the course, Erhart says ‘The wind over these very tall islands is new to us. We have done the Caribbean 600 three times and this is a much more challenging race.’

Even the two MOD 70 fleet leaders hit some of these speed bumps on their final route westwards towards through the gate at Mykonos and eventually to the finish at Cape Sounio. Nonetheless Erik Maris’s Zoulou managed to set a new multihull record of 1D 13H 18M 52S, while Lucky fell into some of these holes, including one big one in particular in the lee of Ikaria that stopped them for hours: just enough to deprive them of breaking the monohull record that was set by Leopard 3 in 2023.

First Overall in IRC scoring and recipient of the Aegean 600 Trophy was Black Pearl (GER), Stefan Jentzsch’s Botin 56, a remarkable result considering they raced without their racing sails. ‘We have done a few races with this boat and this is the toughest we have done,’ said Maris. ‘We had everything: 45kts of wind max and zero at times, but the scenery is just beautiful. This is an incredible race.’ After five and a half days of racing 39 entries had successfully completed this course and safely returned to the venue at Olympic Marine, as well as most of the 30 entries that had retired from the race. All will have plenty of stories to tell and memories to share about this exceptional fourth edition of the Aegean 600.

Now is the time to set sights on the fifth edition of this challenging and exciting offshore race that has become an emerging classic: save the date of Sunday 6 July 2025 for the next start at the Temple of Poseidon.

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