After a morning with good winds the fleet had lunch-stop at Mörtö-Bunsö, refueling for the afternoon. The wind direction offered a up-wind leg and the local weather systems gave all sorts of conditions. Ranging from medium winds and grey clouds to 20 knots of wind and really harsh weather to a sunny finish by our base camp at Rånö.

William Sunnucks and Freddie White are leading after day one:
Sunnucks: “The first thing on my mind now…. I’m cold!!! I should have been in the sauna like everyone else. Today was great racing. We started in almost no wind. This quickly developed into fast reaching conditions with showers coming through. We enjoyed a 7 mile beat with solid wind nd up to 30 degree shifts, with multiple routes through the islands. You think you are going well, and suddenly someone appears miles ahead having found a better route. We were the same speed as everyone else in open water, but our EDGE seems to accelerate very well in the shifty conditions in between the islands. ”

The second race finished with a close battle with Lars Linder/Eric Brunnberg and Leff Dahl/Roger Boden, all finishing within a minute after almost 3 hours of racing.

6 days remains until the start of Stockholm Archipelago Raid, which is also the 2017 World Championship for F18 long distance racing (raid). 27 teams from 6 countries have signed up for this adventure that is really tough and demanding. The sailors have to push their boats really hard and at the same time navigate at high speed through the 36 000 islands and rocks of the Stockholm Archipelago to find all Check Points along the course.

The starts are scheduled for sunrise when possible, which means about 4.30 AM this time of year. After 2 or 3 legs per day the sailors will reach a base camp that changes every night. Sauna and dinner awaits the sailors as reward for their effort and then some well deserved sleep. This repeats for 4 days until the finish at Fjäderholmarna in central Stockholm on Wednesday the 9th of August between 3 or 4 PM.

The race can be followed in real time since the boats are equipped with trackers. Each day a selction of pictures will be released on Facebook and short films will be published on Hamnen.se. A few weeks after the race a program will air on Nautical Channel with a reach to 42 countries around the world.

One Design Center, Swedens leading supplier for dingies and catamarans, will be official partner of clothes and equipment for the F18 Raid worlds. Together with Zhik, the global sailing clothes brand, they will also supply the Official F18 Raid Worlds clothing.

Sailors can also enjoy a great rebate on more or less everything required for the raid, from flares, GPS-armwrist-holder and dry suits to nutrition and energy packs to keep you going when the going gets tough. And the best of all – it will be delivered on-site at Djurgården on the 5th of August, just before start.

See all detailed Offerings to Raid Worlds sailors 2017 here.

Don’t wait too long to stock up, and absolutely not later than 28th of July. Order online and get a very special deal by using the promotion code when ordering.

Click here to order.

We are happy to announce that Nordkapp boats, the leading Norwegian speed boat company, will be the official boat partner for security and media during the F18 Raid Worlds. Several boats of different types will be made available, including the robust Nordkapp Enduro 705 Ranger. It is a aluminum and fiberglass hybrid with 300 hp good for over 50 knots.

We are very happy to have access to such high end, solid, comfortable and reliable speed boats for some of our staff and media crews. It really makes a difference to have good boats when you are out at sea for 4 days regardless the weater and sea conditions.

We are happy to announce that Hamnen.se will produce and broadcast daily films from the F18 Raid Worlds. Gustav Morin, co-founder of Hamnen.se and former Archipelago Raid sailor, who will be the reporter and producer of the film productions explains:

– Our team will focus on the race and the sailors, the surroundings and the event. We will produce high quality films with comments and interviews in English and each morning we will publish the high-lights from the previous day. We will also make a little longer film a couple of days after the race finish to summarize the event. It should be good promotion both for the F18 class, the amazing Stockholm Archipelago and the event.

– Hamnen.se is the biggest boat channel in Scandinavia with 30 to 110 thousand unique users each week.  F18 Raid Worlds will be the main feature at Hamnen.se. We will also send the films to other online media channnels around the world for broader reach as well as to Swedish television companies. The event organisation and the F18 community will also be able to publish the material directly on their home page for future use.

Lars Linder, chairman of the Swedish F18 association:

– This is great news for the event, the sailors and their sponsors.  With Nautical Channel, who will make a longer televised program that will air a few weeks after the event, and Hamnen’s daily online productions the F18 Raid Worlds will be covered from all angles in different ways with high quality films. I’m very excited to have two super experienced film teams covering the event!

With more than 6 months until start 27 teams from 6 countries already signed up.  It also means that the national slots are not filled and all signed-up teams are accepted. From now on teams will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis.

Some top sailors are among the first to register. Elke Delnooz and Jeroen Van Leeuwen (NED) are coming back, last year they were 5th overall and 2nd in the mixed class. They will be challenged by Dahl/Bodén (SWE), Sunnucks/White (GBR) and Karlsson / Nordblom (SWE) to mention a few.

The Organisation of the F18 Raid Worlds is happy to announce that Nautical Channel, the Television Network, has decided to film the F18 Raid Worlds. Nautical Channel broadcast in 43 countries in 3 languages and reaches an audience of 21 Million, averaging at 1.5 million daily viewers.

The plan is to produce a 26 minutes programme that will air in a primetime slot, 3 weeks after the event. It will have highlight status and will have a minimum of 13 runs per week. Host and producer Andi van Zyl:

“The Stockholm Archipelago Raid Programme covers all the thrills and spills surrounding one of the most adventurous races in sailing. We follow the race through the archipelago to its finish in Stockholm City and get an exclusive view into the experiences sailors on their journey through the archipelago and discover more about the incredible location.”