Aegean 600 2021

On July 4th, 2021, the Hellenic Offshore Racing Club (HORC) in Greece organized a new 600 nautical mile offshore yacht race. This is a race designed by sailors for sailors in which the sporting challenge met the legendary beauty of the Aegean islands. It was the first time the one sea favored by poets, painters and philosophers through the ages, hosted such a great offshore sailing event that had both athletic and environmental symbolism, as the message the contestants conveyed was “Let’s Save Our Seas”.

With the support of the environmental organization HELMEPA, HORC aimed to organize an event with the smallest possible ecological footprint. Therefore, actions were taken to educate and inform the entries about marine pollution before the start of the race. Olympic Marine hosted the participating boats and was part of this effort as one of the fastest growing marinas in Greece, situated just north of Sounio, around 70 km away south-east of Athens center.

The legends of Aegean sailing were evident from the very beginning of the race, with Cape Sounion at the start against the backdrop of the Temple of Poseidon. The boats sailed for Milos, the home of the Venus de Milo, which is now in the Louvre in Paris. Surrounded by Cycladic white, they reached the scenic Caldera of Santorini, where the white of the houses blends with the volcanic rock in a sea of blue, creating unique contrasts and images. They continued towards the southernmost island of the Aegean Sea, Kassos, and leaving Karpathos on the left, the goddess Athena’s birthplace and the home of Prometheus, reached the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes. The course continued towards scenic Kos and Kalymnos, the island of sponge divers, while on the way the sailors met dolphins and many beautiful small islands, each with its own history.

The fleet then sailed next to the colorful islands of Pharmakonisi and Agathonisi, and continued to the Icarian Sea, a sea that offers lots of sailing excitement. The sailors met Patmos, the island of Saint John and the Cave of the Apocalypse, and headed to cosmopolitan Mykonos and Delos, the birthplace of Apollo. The last islands of the route was Giaros and Kea. Finally, the contestants looked West on to the Temple of Poseidon and this  marked the end of the sailing adventure and the race.

Through organized excursions, the participants and their friends and family members had the opportunity to visit the archaeological and historical sites of Athens before the race, while during the race escorts were able to join similar organized excursions outside of Athens.

HORC’s goal was to include this race among the international 600 nm classic offshore races, giving the opportunity for all participants to sail in the sea which is considered to be the cradle of the western civilization. The organizers promised to provide to all crews exceptional hospitality, a good organization, and looked forward to welcoming everyone in Greece in July 2021 in the first edition of AEGEAN 600.

This event was being run concurrently with the inaugural edition of another important offshore racing event, the ORC Double Handed European Championship