The Round Gotland Race ( sv, Gotland runt), for sponsorship reasons referred to as ÅF Offshore Race in commercial situations, is an offshore sailing race in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

, arranged by the

Royal Swedish Yacht Club Royal Swedish Yacht Club ( sv, Kungliga Svenska Segelsällskapet, KSSS), is the largest and oldest yacht club in Sweden and one of the five oldest in the world, formed 15 May 1830. KSSS is also the oldest yacht club in Continental Europe. Acti ...

at the turn of the month June/July each year with the starting and finishing lines in

Sandhamn Sandhamn (Swedish for "Sand Harbour") is a small settlement in the central-peripheral part of the Stockholm Archipelago in central-eastern Sweden, approximately 50 km (30 mi) east of Stockholm. Sandhamn is located on the island Sand ...

in the outskirts of Stockholm archipelago. The two-days regatta is the most prestigious race in the Baltic Sea and have an average of around 300 participating sailing boats. The competition is divided into eight different classes, sailing on five different courses. The longest, 653 M, is sailed by 60-foot trimarans, the shortest 179 M, for classic boats. The overall victor is appointed in the ORC International class. For the less experienced and family sailors there is the SweLYS/SRS class, which provides the holiday sailors a taste of a real sail-race adventure.

Maps for the other four courses

(Course ''Delta'', see the map at the top of this article.) File:Gotland runt Alfa.png, Course "Alfa", 653 M. File:Gotland runt Bravo.png, Course "Bravo", 448 M. File:Gotland runt Charlie.png, Course "Charlie", 363 M. File:Gotland runt Classic Yacht.png, Course "Classic Yacht Baltic Race", 179 M. Remark: The straight distance between Revengegrundet east of Sandhamn and Visby (course 193°) is almost exactly 100 M.

History

Gotland Round Race has its roots in a yacht race between Sandhamn and

Visby Visby () is an urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic city of Visby is arguably th ...

in the early 1920s, called Visby Yacht Race. It was a popular race between large type metre yachts, arranged by

. The course started in Sandhamn down to Visby. After a break in Visby (for dinner and relaxation) the boats returned next day to the finishing line in Sandhamn, but without sailing round Gotland. The course is about 200 M. The last Visby Yacht Race was arranged in 1939 when

Jacob Wallenberg (1892–1980) Jacob "Juju" Wallenberg (27 September 1892 – 1 August 1980) was a Swedish banker and industrial leader. Wallenberg held various central positions in Stockholms Enskilda Bank. He was also chairman of the board of several companies, includin ...

with his 10-metre class yacht ''Refanut'', after the victory in series of races, won the last race and was then entitled to keep the Visby Yacht Race trophy forever. It was not until 1937 that the course for the first time covered a trip around Gotland. The course was 250 M and the yachts sailed round Gotland counter clockwise (today the race is clockwise), including an extension round a checkpoint north of

Öland Öland (, ; ; sometimes written ''Øland'' in other Scandinavian languages, and often ''Oland'' internationally; la, Oelandia) is the second-largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area ...

Participation from the Royal houses in Scandinavia

King

Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. He ascended the throne on the death of his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf, on 15 September 1973. He is the youngest child and only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, D ...

, has participated several times in the Round Gotland Race, as well as King

Harald V of Norway Harald V ( no, Harald den femte, ; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway. He acceded to the throne on 17 January 1991. Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the li ...

, who usually participates every year. His crew won his class in 2005.

Image gallery Round Gotland Race

File:Orma 60 trimaran Nokia in Sandhamn.png, Trimaran ''Nokia'', type open ORMA 60 in

, preparing for the start. Photo: July 2005. File:Gotland Runt 2012c.jpg, The start of Gotland Runt at Stockholm in 2012. File:Gotland Runt, the AF Offshore Race 2012.jpg, Gotland Runt, 2012. File:Gotland Runt, the AF Offshore Race 3 2012.jpg, Gotland Runt, 2012.

Sources

Round Gotland Race, Official website
{{Reflist Sailing competitions in Sweden Sport in Gotland County 1937 establishments in Sweden June sporting events July sporting events Recurring sporting events established in 1937 Yachting races Royal Swedish Yacht Club