Archipelago Raid to start on Monday

It's time for the ninth edition of the Archipelago Raid - the world's greatest and most extreme orienteering sailing race, in which an international field of teams race through the Stockholm archipelago, Aland islands and Finnish archipelago. It's a tough and exhausting test of skill and stamina where complex navigation is made all the more difficult by the effects of sleep deprivation.

The race starts on August 17th and finishes on August 22nd 2009 at the conference centre At Sea on the island of Lidingö outside Stockholm. The race will pass through the Stockholm archipelago, through the Aland Islands, thence to the archipelago outside Finnish Turku before returning to Lidingö. The boats are all Formula 18 catamarans: very fast 5.5 meter twin-hull craft sailed by 2 crew.

The competition's uniqueness comes from the fact that the competitors must pick their way through the countless islands which the race route encompasses, briefly stopping at between 20 and 25 checkpoints along the way. A checkpoint could be a lighthouse, beach, dock or other geographical feature, and the racers can choose what they believe to be the fastest route between checkpoints. The main idea is for the race to be as mentally and physically stressful as possible, therefore some of the stages of the race are very long in order to necessitate round-the-clock sailing. There are occasional short stops, but any respite for the crews will be lessened by having to carry out maintenance on the boats. Sleep will be in short supply, snatched in the open air.

Thanks to the unique form of competition and the beautiful natural setting in which it takes place, the race has grown into a large and well-respected competition among the world's leading racing sailors. This year more than 30 teams from 13 countries will be competing. Among the participants are Anders Lewander, who was skipper aboard Ericsson 3 during parts of the recently finished Volvo Ocean Race, and Olympic yachtsman and Swedish F18 champion Martin Strandberg. The Finnish Olympic gold medallist and helmsman of Ericsson 3, Thomas Johanson, is racing, as is Gustav Morin, who was media crew member aboard Ericsson 3 in the Volvo Ocean Race.

More information on the event website.