As the days get shorter and colder and Christmas is approaching you may think of other things than Formula 18 raid racing. Well, we’re not. Planning for the 2019 edition is well under way and it’s going to be special. Because seriously, what can possibly be better than a gennaker run on one hull through a narrow straight with one eye on the GPS, one on the tell tales and one in the water in front of you in case you have to dodge a rock…

Going through stora Nassa 2018. Creds to Hartas Productions

Some base camps are set, some are not, so the dates are still a little flexible, but it’s going to be 4 or 5 days of sailing between the 22-26th of August. The concept will be similar to the last couple of years: work hard, play hard and then chill out with a good sauna before drinks, dinner and the sack. Repeat.

Until then save the date and sign up for our newsletter to stay tuned. And when the longing gets too bad, let yourself be carried away to the Stockholm archipelago the summer of 2016.

F18 raid Worlds 2017 promo – high res from Stockholm Archipelago Raid on Vimeo.

…all teams of the raid who pushed themselves to the limit, leg after leg, mile after mile through all the islands, rocks and open sea in quite tough wind conditions. And all teams who battled with the teams around them and sometimes gained a point or two and sometimes lost. And all teams who took part in the adventure and made it to the remote islands and skerries where seals and seabirds live. And also all the people of the Race Organisation who made the race so successful, the food so tasty, the sauna hot and the beer cold and the whole experience so nice.

All teams were winners, but some teams were more winners than the other teams. Three teams stood out from the crowd this year:

Overall winner Fredrik Karlsson and Niklas Nordblom (SWE) who beat Patrick Demesmaeker and Vincent Thery (BEL) literally on the finish line with only 1 point.

Winners in the mixed class Leff Dahl and Ida Svensson (SWE) who where overall on third place, only a capsize or two from the overall win.

Winners of the youth class Lucy Nissen (18) and Jai Tooley (17) (AUS) who where 5th overall. Considering that they are a very light team in heavy conditions, that they normally don’t sail together, that they haven’t had to navigate to dodge rocks before and that they sailed a C2 for the first time this achievement was outstanding!

All other winners can be found in the Final Results and below. Big congratulations to all of you. Hope to see you back next year!

/Lars

Yesterday 15 boats participated in a Raid tune up around the nearby islands. It was perfect to begin with and we were flying out one one hull with the gennakers. On leg 4 on our way home the wind died completely, so we had to practice towing as well. Now we are really prepared.

All boats registered today and passed the safety inspection. At 7PM there was team briefing that started with hotdogs and beer. The teams are now ready and all is prepared for the start tomorrow at 10 outside Saltsjöbaden. The course was for leg 1 and 2 will be:

Leg 1:

• CP1 – start
• CP40 to port
• CP57 to port
• CP61 (Close) finish

Leg 2

• CP61 Start
• CP58 to port
• CP40 to port
• CP49 to port
• CP32 to starbord
• CP26 (close) Finish

The course will go towards the south passed Dalarö to the island Rånö where there is a lunch stop. The second leg will take the sailors out at sea and then gives some interesting options to go at sea or more behid some islands protected from the waves but with more gybing on the way of to the finish in Sandhamn where we hope to arrive around 6 PM after some 70 NM sailed distance

With 3 days until start the foreign teams have started to arrive in Stockholm. There are 23 teams competing in this year’s edition and it is a fantastic fleet of sailors: 10 nationalities from Europe, Australia and the Americas. 6 mixed teams. 2 youth teams (both helm and crew are under 19).

There are a several contenders for the podium and the level of competition is as always on a high level. Some teams to watch out for:

• BEL Patrick Demesmaeker (European F18 champion, winner of St Barth Cata Cup etc) / Vincent Thery (Archipelago Raid veteran)
• SWE Fredrik Karlsson / Niklas Nordblom has won all F18 titles there is to win in the Nordics, except the raid. Will be smoking with their new boat with Deck Sweeper sail.
• SWE Leff Dahl (reigning F18 Raid World Champion) sailing with Ida Svensson (Olympic campaign in Nacra 17)
• GBR Archie Massey and Harvey Hillary with lots of Championship medals, but for the first time in the Stockholm Archipelago Raid.

To get on top on the podium in the mixed class the competition has never been as though. In addition to Leff and Ida you also have to beat teams like:

• Jakob Thun and Linda Sjö who finished 3rd in the mixed class last year tightly followed by…
• Therese Antman and Oscar Wetterling finishing 4th last year
• Manfred Zeissel and Eveline Haselsteiner are back with charged batteries
• Simon Skoog sailing with Sandra Sandqvist (both involved in the Artemis AC project) are sailing with a new Deck Sweeper sail

In the youth class (<26) there are two teams fighting for the gold medal: Lucy Nissen (1999) / Jai Tooley (2000) from Australia and Max Rehman Linder (1999) and Niklas Forhaug (2001) from Sweden.  Watch out for these young sailors a few years from now…

A preliminary check point list is ready. 65 checkpoints from Landsort in the south to Söderarm in the north (150 km apart) constitutes the playground of the 2018 Stockholm Archipelago Raid.

The checkpoints will be distributed to the teams in Excel and GPX-format in advance. A water proof paper chart will also be handed out to all teams to plot the Check Points using a waterproof pen. The paper chart will be used for planning purpose to find the best ways through the groups of islands, while the GPS with plotter will be most useful to dodge the underwater rocks along the way.

The basecamp at Sandhamn is situated in the middle of the archipelago making it possible to go to the north one day and to the south another. The sailors are not likely to pass the same patch of water more than once during the 4 days of racing.

Each morning at the briefing the sailors will get the list of check points to be used that day during the 2 or 3 legs. A typical first leg can look like this:

• Start outside basecamp
• East of CP25
• South of CP 15 (within 50 m)
• Round CP 10 from south to north
• Finish CP 9 Fredlarna

At CP 15 the RC boat will show a white board telling the sailors if they shall proceed to CP 10 Svenska Högarna or if they shall go directly to CP 9 Fredlarna for safety reasons. It could also be that the first ten or fifteen boats can go around CP 10, while the second part of the fleet shall proceed directly to CP 9 (2 points deducted and a boat that goes the shorter distance can never beat a boat going the full distance). At CP 9 there will be a short rest and food break and restart about 30 minutes after the last boat finished the previous leg.

The second leg take the sailors up to Söderarm in the North (CP43) before a second break at Rödlöga (CP7). The third and final leg of the day takes the sailors through the narrow straights of Stora Nassa (CP18) and Björkskär (CP19) before finish in the harbour of Sandhamn (CP26).

The aim will be to use check points that give the sailors different options to round the islands and also to have both upwind, downwind and long reaches during the races. Some of the check points are situated in the middle of a group of rocks and islands in order to force all sailors to pass these magic places in the archipelago.

They say that Preparation is the mother of success. For the Stockholm Archipelago Raid sailors that is clearly the case. Sometimes the difference between 5 points on a leg, or even finishing the leg, is only about making the right preparations and bringing the right equipment on board, planning the navigation in advance etc.

But preparations is also about security and making sure that you prepare for the worst. Most accidents is about boats flipping over in strong winds or hitting a rock trying to make a time saving short-cut some where. That happens even to the top teams and in almost every case the team can help itself and continue the race right away or the next leg.

However, occasionally there are injuries or accidents when the teams need assistance. A number of security boats can be called upon, but it requires the right equipment onboard and on all sailors, like a charged mobile phone, a VHF and a flare. It has happened more than once that sailors try to call the Safety Organisation only to find their phone is out of battery because they used it for navigation and the VHF is dead since it wasn’t as water proof as it should have been.

Make sure to come well prepared and don’t take safety precautions lightly.  With all gear in order you can enjoy the sailing and just have fun in a safe way in the wilderness of the remote parts of the Stockholm Archipelago.

See updated Notice of Race and Safety equipment check list for all details.

One Design Center, the leading sports equipment supplier for dingies and catamarans in Sweden, will be official partner of equipment for the Stockholm Archipelago Raid. Together with Zhik, the global sailing clothes brand, they will also supply the official clothing and some great rebates for the sailors. See all detailed Offerings to Stockholm Archipelago Raid sailors 2018 here.

Sailors will enjoy a great rebate on more or less everything required for the raid, from flares, Garmin GPS-armwrist-holder and clothing to ropes and spare parts for most cats, in particular the Goodall Design. And the best of all – it will be delivered to sailors at KSSS on the 21st – 22nd of August, just before start.

See all detailed Offerings to Stockholm Archipelago Raid sailors 2018 here.

3 months from start of the Stockholm Archipelago Raid (SAR) 30 teams from 12 nations have signed up. It is definately the toughest fleet for many years, if not since the start. Some of the top teams to watch out for:

• Leff Dahl / Roger Bodén (SWE) winners from SAR 2017 and reigning F18 Raid World Champions
• Patrick Demesmaeker (BEL), current European Champion and winner of St Barth Cata Cup 2015
• Pierre Yves Moreau / Benoit Lequin (FRA), transatlantic record holders in a 20 foot sport catamaran and with maxi trimaran Banque Poplulaire
• Rasmus Rosengren (SWE), winner of SAR 2016 and helmsman of the Artemis AC youth
• Archei Massey (GBR) and Mike McKensie (AUS) World Champion skiff sailors
• Fredrik Karlsson / Niklas Nordblom (SWE), three times Nordic F18 champions and raid experts
• Lucy Nissen / Jai Tooley (AUS), foiling Nacra and F18 experts

At the same time there are many club sailors from all over the world who just come to experience the adventure, the amazing archipelago and to have fun. For the first time ever we have teams from both France, Italy, Belgium, Australia, Germany, Austria, England, The Netherlands, the USA and the Nordic Countries.
All are equally welcome!

Sailors who are not yet registered can still do so and will be placed on the waiting list. There is still a good chance to get a place. Registered teams who have not yet paid the sign-up fee are advised to do so as soon as possible to confirm their participation.

Stockholm Archipelago Raid is very happy to announce a partnership with Goodall Design, the world leading F18 designer and manufacturer.

Goodall design will deliver two lightly used C2 F18 boats for rent at Stockholm Archipelago Raid for the very competitive price of 2000 Euro. The platforms are from 2016 and in very good condition and the rigs are brand new this year. The boats come fully equipped , ready to sail shiped from the European factory in Belgium. Laurent Verbeeck will not only deliver the boats to KSSS in Saltsjöbaden and back to Holland, he will also help setting up the boats and assist the C2 sailors before and after the race to make sure all is working perfectly.

Chartering has never been easier, and the boats are top boats that can win the race. This is a one in a life time opportunity for sailors who want to join the Stockholm Archipelago Raid, but can’t bring their own boat.

Interested teams shall contact Laurent Verbeeck latest Thursday the 1st of June. After that any remaining boat will be rented on a first come first serve basis.

Laurent Verbeeck
laurent@goodalldesign.net
Mobile: +32 474 040 935
www.GoodallDesign.net

If more than 2 teams want to charter a boat they will be chosen at the discretion of the organizing committe together with Goodall design. Please describe in the application your experience from sailing in general and F18 in particular. Previous experience from sailing C2 or Capricorn is also a merit.

With 111 days until the start of the Stockholm Archipelago Raid 28 teams from 11 countries have already signed up. And for the first time in many years both French and Italian teams will join the raid. Other teams come from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Norway, the USA and of course Sweden.

It looks like the fleet will be bigger, stronger and more international than any previous raid since the days of the original ”Archipelago Raid” during the years 2001 and 2009. Some of the teams still lack a team mate or a boat, so it is possible that there are more than two places remaining until the race will be full. But to be on the safe side, book your place before end of May,

Inspirational throw back to the raid 2016 (even if it is the promo film for the Raid Worlds in 2017)