With days left until the start shot – which will give the 230 participating sailboats the go-ahead to leave the strait between Gröna Lund, Beckholmen and Stadsgårdskajen – much remains to be done.
For Håkan Andersson, competition manager on Gotland around the offshore race, the last days mostly mean a tense expectation, but for the volunteers who work with the audience event, it is a busy day.
– There are tents and stages, food and the harbor are prepared to receive visitors, it is an extensive work.
– We prepare this for a whole year. When the last boat finishes, we start preparing for the following year. Now we are in the week when it will open and it is always the most fun, Andersson continues.
– The competition management looks forward to welcoming the audience again.
Photo: Marcus Ericsson / Bildbyrån
The competition’s volunteers have worked feverish in getting the visitor area in Galärparken on Djurgården in order. For the first time in two years, the competition is held with full opportunities for audiences.
– It feels absolutely fantastic. We did have a big competition last year, but now it’s even better. Even for the sailors, it is an experience to start inside the city.
Håkan Andersson has been the competition leader for the ocean-going sailing around Gotland since 2015. He describes part of the allure of the competition as that he feels “the wings of history”.
– For me, it’s about the participants and that it takes place in the middle of summer in the middle of the city. But also that there is so much, both national and international interest in this competition. There are many aspects that come into play.
The competition has been held annually since 1937, with the traditional start on the first Sunday after midsummer. This year, the competition will be a little different as, in addition to the regular sailing classes, it also hosts the WC in double handed. The form of competition, where only two people sail, has grown greatly in recent years, but this year’s world championships will be the first ever.
– It will be an extra bonus, we have a very nice international competition with a high standard from the beginning. Adding a World Cup to it makes it even more interesting, even for the international sailing world, says the competition leader.
– “It’s a fantastic spectacle with all the boats in the start.”
Photo: Marcus Ericsson / Bildbyrån
Those who make up for the world championship title only goes out on Sunday morning, where the starting shot in the first class goes at 11 o’clock.
Then follows a steady stream of regular starts until 4 pm. Then all 230 crews should have left the narrow harbor entrance in the direction of Gotland and the final destination Sandhamn.
– It is a fantastic spectacle with all the boats in the start. Then when they pass Oxdjupet at lunchtime, it also becomes a fantastic scenery.
– Then there are easier competitions to organize, I can admit that and to say something else would be a lie, says Håkan Andersson and laughs.
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