All in at the Aegean 600

 Last night and early this morning all but two remaining teams have finished the 6th edition of the AEGEAN 600, organized by the Hellenic Offshore Racing Club (HORC) and Olympic Marine. These two teams - Patrick and Vincent Harris's double-handing their Maisa 36 MOWGLI OF PORTSMOUTH (ESP) and Robert Saric’s Elan 333 BURI (CRO) - have been making fitful progress towards the finish line at Cape Sounion and the Ancient Temple of Poseidon.

They are expected to finish later tonight or in the early hours of tomorrow.

Meanwhile teams that have recently re-entered Olympic Marine after their finish continue to share their high marks for this race.

Yesterday afternoon Massimo Juris and Pietro Luciani crossed the finish line at 16:07 local time on their JPK 10.80 COLOMBRE (ITA), the second double handed entry to finish the race. They were 2H 38M behind the first to finish of the double handed teams - Stefan Hummeke and Melwin Fink on their Neo 400 UPSCALE (GER) - and just 10 minutes ahead of the next double handed finishers, Periklas Livas and Simon Sweetman on their Dehler 30 OD OPTIMUM 4 (GRE).

“This was our first AEGEAN 600, what a race!,” said Juris. “We have a wide experience with races in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, but this race stands out. It is challenging due to the prevailing strong winds and the mysterious areas of calm allows for a comeback until the very end. There are also a variety of sailing angles which makes this a very all-around race. The scenery is amazing and the sailing of historic routes adds to the charm of the race.

“Adequate preparation is indispensable for any sailing, but this is especially true for this race. We’re happy our boat was up to her challenge. Finally, we must compliment the organization which was wonderful throughout the registration and logistics process.”

In the meantime the current standings are posted based on the elapsed and corrected finish times among the rest of the fleet. Projected winners for each class and division are as follows:

Line Honors: Claudio Demartis’s R/P 90 PROSECCO DOC SHOCKWAVE 3 (ITA)

IRC Overall: Antoine Magre’s Mach 50 PALANAD 4 (FRA)

IRC Zero: Antoine Magre’s Mach 50 PALANAD 4 (FRA)

IRC One: Claudio Bernoni’s Cookson 50 FOREVER K (ITA)

IRC Two: Richard Fromentin’s JPK 11.80 COCODY (FRA)

IRC Three: Igor Ritov’s JPK 10.80 BOGATYR (UAE)

IRC DoubleHanded: Massimo Juris & Pietro Luciani’s JPK 10.80 COLOMBRE (ITA)

Maxi: George Procopiou’s Volvo 70 AIOLOS (GRE)

ORC Overall: Jon Desmond’s TP52 FINAL FINAL (USA)

ORC Zero: Jon Desmond’s TP52 FINAL FINAL (USA)

ORC One: Petar Dimitrov’s ClubSwan 42 ABOAT TIME (BUL)

ORC Two: Maks Vrecko’s Elan 450 KARPO IDRIJA (SLO)

ORC Three: Pavel Stolba’s JPK 10.30 MARY S (CZE)

ORC DoubleHanded: Andrezej Rozycki/Maciej Marczewski’s JPK10.30 PNEUMA (POL)

MOCRA: Stuart Austin’s Outremer 4x QUICK DECISION (GBR)