Strong and steady winds took the Moonsund Regatta fleet to Kärdla on Hiiumaa island | 11 Jul 18, piret.salmistu

After two days of shorter circles in Tallinn, the A. Le Coq 61st Moonsund Regatta sailed to Hiiumaa. Olybet Kakumäe - Kärdla leg was one of the longest races of the regatta: 67 - 72 miles for smaller and bigger yachts respectively.

Although the morning greeted the fleet with perfect windless beach weather, the winds decided to come out of hiding by midday and the 6 - 7 m/s north-east breeze accompanied the fleet until sunset, by which time most yachts had reached Kärdla harbour. The winners of the Olybet Kakumäe - Kärdla leg by group were: Sugar 2, Adele, Lagle III, Guru, Deja Vu, Vindöga and Tee Chee.


When commenting on weather, PRO Andres Talts sounded very optimistic in the morning: “As the forecast for the wind this week is very modest, we have set up the fastest course possible. Although the morning is hot and windless, we should be able to sail to Kärdla later in the day jolly well.”


Due to wind conditions the start had to be postponed but when the race could commece, it was fair winds from then on until the evening. The fastest among the seven groups and 109 yachts was Tuule from Pärnu Yacht Club who reached its destination in nine hours and 15 minutes.


After calculating the corrected time, in ORC I, the group for bigger yachts, the race winner after nine and half hours was Sugar2 from Pärnu Yacht Club with Marjaliisa Umb at the helm. “The downwind race was cool, and the course was fast. But it wasn’t very easy. The wind was very changeable, and you had to be very observant to find your course among the other yachts. It required a lot of planning to find the best tactic. Those who were able to use the changing wind to their advantage, had a better position too,” commented Marjaliisa Umb.


Margus Žuravljov, captain of the fastest boat in ORC II - Amserv Toyota Sailing Team – was very pleased with the race: “We had a good start, but time will tell if we left the others well behind or not. The weather was amazing, and course was fast. There was enough room for everyone and the tailwind enabled to gybe if needed. Even this was ok that bigger and smaller groups were all together. In order to race well today, you had to have a good sense of the conditions.”


The best teams of the Olybet Kakumäe - Kärdla leg:

ORC I
1. SUGAR 2 EST711 Marjaliisa Umb, Pärnu Yacht Club
2. NIDA III LTU1111 Arunas Burksas, Vetrungis Nida
3. FORTE EST475 Tammo Otsasoo, Kalev Yacht Club

ORC II
1. ADELE EST467 Aleksandr Karboinov, JK Baltsail
2. AMSERV TOYOTA ST EST379 Margus Žuravljov, Kalev Yacht Club
3. EVELYN III EST477 Kristen Pugi, Saaremaa Maritime Sports Society / Kalev Yacht Club

ORC III
1. LAGLE III EST554 Ülari Velviste, Saaremaa Maritime Sports Society
2. PRIZRAK RUS331 Dmitry Mostovoy, Vodnik
3. BAILARINA LAT350 Andrejs Buls, RSSC

ESTLYS I
1. GURU LAT352 Arnis Remess, Latvian Y/C
2. EXTRA BRUT LAT577 Alexei Alexeev, Latvian YC
3. LE MANS LAT771 Kristaps Remess, Latvijan Y/C

ESTLYS II
1. DEJAVU EST542 Peeter Siniväli, Kalev Yacht Club
2. SINYAYA PTICA RUS630 Dmitry Diakov, SPbRYC
3. KRISTI EST66 Kaarel Lehtsalu, Kalev Yacht Club

ESTLYS III
1. VINDÖGA EST640 Mikas Miniotas, Kalev Yacht Club
2. MERCURIUS EST45 Margus Tasa, Saaremaa Maritime Sports Society
3. OLÕ-IQ KIPÕT EST429 Karl Kruuse, Kalev Yacht Club

FOLKBOOT
1. TEE CHEE EST38 Peeter Välkmann, Kalev Yacht Club
2. LIND EST32 Tiit Riisalo, Kalev Yacht Club
3. LINDA EST42 Pertti Neero, Kalev Yacht Club


Leaders after the first three races:
ORC I – Sugar 2 EST711, Marjaliisa Umb – Pärnu Yacht Club
ORC II – Jazz EST465, Viljar Sepp – Kalev Yacht Club
ORC III – Bailarina LAT350, Andrejs Buls – RSSC
ESTLYS I – Katarina Jee EST464, Mart Tamm – Saaremaa Maritime Sports Society
ESTLYS II – Sinyaya Ptica RUS630, Dmitry Diakov – SPbRYC
ESTLYS III – Mercurius EST45, Margus Tasa - Saaremaa Maritime Sports Society
Folkboot – Lind EST32, Tiit Riisalo, Kalev Yacht Club

The A.Le Coq 61st Moonsund Regatta will continue on Wednesday, 11th of July, in Kärdla with a 10-mile Hiiu county corcle.


Full results