Archipelago Raid overall

Brits Mark Self and William Sunnucks on X-Leisure win the Archipelago Raid 2004 © Thierry Martinez

Brits Mark Self and William Sunnucks on X-Leisure win the Archipelago Raid 2004

The happy but tired Brits on X-Leisure took victory today in the world’s longest and toughest orienteering sailing race, Archipelago Raid. After having completed the five legs the winner had a total of 143 points, 6.5 points ahead of second boat Addicom 1 crewed by the Swedes Fredrik Adilstam and Pontus Johansson. The Frenchmen Eric Proust and Yann Andrillon on Proust Sailing were third with 126.5 points. In tight competition the Brits turned out to be sharpest, having very good boat speed and took well earned victory, despite their reluctance to paddling…

”It has been very long and very hard but fantastic sailing! The scenery is stunning and it has been very, very good competition. The standard of the competitors is really high. We are a light crew and not strong enough to paddle – we really suffered during the paddling!” Mark Self said after crossing the finish line in Stockholm during at around 15.00 local time this afternoon.

The brave sailors have raced intensely during five days and four nights in the archipelagos of Stockholm and Aland (between Sweden and Finland). They have accomplished around 450 miles up and down the archipelagos. The race has been divided into five legs with a total of 28 checkpoints to pass along the way. During four compulsory stops the competitors have had the possibility to eat, drink, repair the boat, prepare for the next leg and sleep a few hours. Since Monday morning the sailors have probably slept around 8-15 hours in total.

The fifth and last leg started at 05.00 local time this morning, and it was uncertain all the way to the finish line who would take the overall victory. It has been very close racing and the teams have given every ounce of energy they had left all the way to the finish line. By one of the check points 1,5 minutes separated the eight first boats! There has been a lot of action out there and the positions changed constantly.

Conditions have been very varied with sun, rain, wind and no wind at all. The most exciting part of the race was probably out in the archipelago of Aland, were the wind was strong and the navigation very tricky between all the thousands of small rocks and islands. Many teams capsized several times, one boat lost its mast, sails have sheered and sea charts have been lost. The lack of sleep and food has in moments caused some irrational decisions.

This year a record number of boats participated in the Archipelago Raid. With 28 teams of two, from 11 different countries, the Archipelago Raid is definitely positioned on the world map of sailing.

”The international teams have been a colourful contribution. They are excellent at handling the boat. The Swedish teams have been better prepared than previous years and the level is definitely higher than ever. It was unforgettable to see the faces on the foreign sailors when we had to paddle, something I think us vikings might have more stamina to do..”, said last year’s winner Anders Lewander on Tidermans, who won leg five today, after beating X-Leisure with seconds over the finishing line. Tidermans finished fourth in total.

See the full results at www.archipelagoraid.com

There are five legs with around 6 checkpoints at each leg. The result is based on a point system determined by the arrival position of each leg, plus 0,5 points for the first boat at each checkpoint.

Overall Results:

1. X-Leisure (GB) 143 pts
2. Addicom 1 (SWE) 136,5 pts
3. Proust Sailing (FRA) 126,5 pts
4. Tidermans (SWE) 123 pts
4. Sogeti (SWE) 123 pts
6. Frugo (POL) 117 pts
6. Jobman (SWE) 117 pts
8. Bollé (FRA) 115 pts
8. PAF (FIN) 115 pts
10. Ocean Works (SWE) 110 pts