2024 Roschier Baltic Sea Race, celebrating success

The 2024 Roschier Baltic Sea Race attracted an international alumni for the second edition of the 635nm offshore race. Organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club together with the Ocean Racing Alliance, 296 sailors from six continents experienced the full range of conditions that the Baltic Sea can offer. From light upwind racing in zephyrs, to near gale force conditions propelling the fleet to maximum boat speed.

Sailors came from Australia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Uniquely, the Roschier Baltic Sea Race starts and finishes in one of the world’s major capital cities. Helsinki has outstanding logistics and all-round entertainment venues. The Roschier Baltic Sea Race Helsinki Mayoral Reception was held at the City Hall. Located in the Kruununhaka district, overlooking Market Square, City Hall dates back to 1883. The fleet was based in Marina Bay with excellent facilities at the heart of the City of Helsinki.

The Grand Prizegiving was held in the Warehouse Restaurant Sipuli in the maritime district of Katajanoka. Champagne for winners was provided by Roschier, with a complimentary banquet buffet of Finnish fayre after the presentation. Guest of honour was Roschier Managing Partner Mikko Manner: “The Baltic Sea ties our firm together, both spiritually and physically, as Roschier operates in Helsinki and Stockholm,” commented Manner. “Sailing teams embody camaraderie and goal orientation; values we aspire to every day of our professional lives. We admire every team and crew member in the race. It is great to be involved, it is what Roschier is all about.”

“We are delighted with the second edition of the Roschier Baltic Sea Race, on all measures," commented RORC CEO, Jeremy Wilton. "The entries are up 40% from the first race in 2022, with competitors coming to Helsinki to race from 20 countries. The fleet experienced a range of weather conditions which strategically challenged all teams, and we have a new winner on IRC corrected time. Many congratulations to Christian Zugel and his crew on Tschüss 2.

"Our principal sponsor Roschier is delighted with their involvement, and what the race does in support of their brand values. Above all, from the feedback I have had talking to competitors around the dock, all have been super positive about the race, its organisation, and for us at RORC. That is key for its future development and we’re already looking forward to the third edition in 2026," concluded Wilton.

Volvo 70 Tschüss 2 (USA), owned by RORC member Christian Zugel and skippered by Johnny Mordaunt, was the overall winner of the 2024 Roschier Baltic Sea Race. Tschüss 2 also won IRC Zero and set a new Roschier Baltic Sea Race Outright Record of 2 Days 5 Hrs 6 Mins and 41 Secs. Race sponsor Raymarine awarded Tschüss 2 with a 2,500 Euro voucher for scoring the best corrected time under IRC.

Tschüss 2 Crew: Christian Zugel, Al Fraser, Alex Higby, Campbell Field, Christopher Welch, Cian Guilfoyle, Edward Myers, Fredric Shanks, Johnny Mordaunt, Neal McDonald, Pete Cumming, Simon Johnson, Stu Bannatyne, Toby Griffen, Trystan Seal.

Overall Runner-up after IRC time correction was RORC Member, Per Roman racing JPK 1180 Garm (SWE), and in third place was First 36.7 Pro4U (SWE) powered by the KSSS Offshore Clinic, the youth team from the Royal Swedish Yacht Club.

“The Roschier Baltic Sea Race is testament to how I think RORC is trying to expand its offerings and I think this race is a fantastic addition and I can only suggest that everybody comes and sails here,” commented Tschüss 2 owner Christian Zugel. “The welcome Helsinki gave us, the Mayor’s Reception, the Marina Bay setup, it has all been really fabulous. The Tschüss 2 team could not be happier. We have really enjoyed the City. It's a great place to sail from and we hope there will be many more races to come.”

Commenting on the overall podium, Christian Zugel pointed out that the Roschier Baltic Sea Race can be won by any team, in fact the first edition was won by the smallest boat in the race, the 28ft Silver Moon II (FIN) with an all-amateur team.

“It is a race that that anybody can do well in; if you look at 2nd and 3rd place, they are from IRC One and Two. During the race they were the teams that we saw as our rivals,” commented Zugel. “Even though Tschüss 2 was far ahead on the water, on corrected time, the win was only by about four hours, which is not a lot after three days of racing. Tschüss 2 sends our congratulations to Per Roman’s Garm and the KSSS Youth Team on Pro4U; they sailed extremely well and deserve their super results.”

IRC Zero

Tschüss 2 was the winner of IRC Zero by just over five hours after IRC time correction from Niklas Zennstrom’s Carkeek 52 Rán (SWE). Birgitta Elfversson’s Ker 40 Swee (SWE) was third with an all-Swedish team from the Royal Swedish Yacht Club.

Niklas Zennstrom grew up sailing in the Baltic and was delighted to see that the Roschier Baltic Sea Race is going from strength to strength: “Thank you to the RORC team for looking after all the sailors in Helsinki, it’s been a great experience with lots of challenging conditions. Thank you also for meeting Rán at 4 a.m. when we finished - that was a very nice touch!”

The first Finnish boat to complete the race, and fourth in IRC Zero was Arto Linnervuo’s Infiniti 52 Tulikettu Redkik (FIN). “The second edition has seen a dramatic change from 2022. We have more faster boats with professional crews and more cruiser racers with Corinthians racing as friends or families,” commented Arto Linnervuo. “These are the ingredients of a great offshore race which is growing fast and I am really excited to see what happens in the 2026 Roschier Baltic Sea Race. I hope that this race will soon reach the same number of competitors as the RORC Caribbean 600. I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t.”

IRC One

Per Roman’s JPK 1180 Garm (SWE) was the winner of a highly competitive IRC One class, as well as second overall for the Roschier Baltic Sea Race. Second in IRC One, by less than three hours after IRC time correction was Taavet Hinrikus’ MAT1220 Nola (EST). Dirk Clasen’s Humphreys 39 Gingko (GER) was third.

Three different designs made up the IRC One podium, the fast surfing designs hit speeds of well-over 20 knots during the blast reach down to Gotland. Class winner Garm blew out their smallest spinnaker and hoisted their A4 well over its wind range but the kite held out.

Per Roman’s crew on Garm has many top Spanish sailors, including Maserati Multi70 bowman Oliver Herrera. Swedish trimmer on Garm, Tore Lewander has a long offshore sailing CV, including more than 25 Round Gotland races. Garm, Nola and Ginko all intend to compete in next year’s Rolex Fastnet Race.

“Garm has an absolutely star crew, the best of the best!” smiled Per Roman. “They come from all-over Spain, but Tore is from Stockholm. I look for the best across the continent! I don’t care about the flag, I care about the quality and the personality!”

IRC Two

Team Pro4u powered by KSS Offshore Clinic was the standout winner of IRC Two and also third overall after IRC time correction for the Roschier Baltic Sea Race. Perttu Monthan’s JPK 1030 Tenet (FIN) was second.

After four days and nights of hard racing, third place in IRC Two went to a photo-finish. Julius Haartti & Sanna Moliis’ J/109 Irie (FIN) made the podium by just six minutes after IRC time correction. Fourth by a whisker was Philip Schröderheim’s J/99 Vitesse (SWE), racing doublehanded with Madeleine Lithvall.

“The team has been racing together for a while, so we have really improved our performance and we love racing in strong wind,” explained Team Pro4U Skipper Linnea Flosser. “We all have our own specialist role on board, but also have a secondary position. We try to put on the best driver when the conditions are good for their skill set, as well as other positions. This has been a fantastic race for us and we hope to do much more. We really love the long distance of the Roschier Baltic Sea Race.”

IRC Two-Handed

The winner of IRC Two-Handed was Fredrik Rydin’s J/121 Jolene (SWE) racing with Johan Tuvstedt, with Irie in second and Vitesse in third. 

“For the first part of the race the weather played out pretty much to the forecast as planned, which was good,” commented Jolene’s Fredrik Rydin. “For the second part, the forecast was okay but not as much wind as predicted; we had heavy winds but nothing horrific. For any race preparation is very important. We have sailed together a lot and the boat is in really good shape. You can’t have a rigid watch system when you are doublehanded, you have to adapt. In the second part of the race, boat speed was really important, so we managed to get plenty of sleep during the race. This allowed us to stay focused, especially driving.”

The battle among the two-handed warriors was deep and intense; the corrected time difference between third and sixth was under four hours. A special mention to all of the teams that finished the race in IRC Two-Handed; Figaro II The Spirit (DEN) raced by Anders Lundmark & Louise Edgren, Olof Bratthall’s Spjut (SWE), racing with Noel Barkelius, and Paer Lindfors’ Albin Nova Team Mobline (SWE) with co-skipper Nadine Kugel.

Multihull

The only multihull in the race was the TS 42 Squid (FIN) owned by Janne Kjellman and co-skippered by Marko Mäki. Squid finished the race in an elapsed time of 3 Days 06 Hours 56 Mins and 48 Secs. Squid beat their own record set in 2022 and raised the Multihull Record benchmark. The all-Finnish team of six on Squid were greeted with cold beers in Marina Bay and owner Janne Kjellman and his crew were in a great mood.

“We would like more multihulls to race with, but on Squid we had a great race and plenty of laughter. We broke a few things so I am going to write a long letter to Santa Claus!” joked Janne. “Top speed was over 20 knots on the way to the south of Gotland. After that the race from there to the finish was not as uncomfortable as we thought. Early on after Gotland, the sea state was quite rough but there was not really enough wind to push through it. When the wind speed got up Squid was riding well over the waves, it was superb sailing.”

Kenneth Bjoerklund’s CNB 76 Enderpearl (NOR) was the fourth boat to finish the race. Weighing in at 55,000 Kg with a full interior, Enderpearl completed the race in an elapsed time of 3 Days 05 Hours 25 Mins and 15 Secs; beating their elapsed time for the 2022 edition by about one hour. Kenneth Bjoerklund’s 13 year-old son Lyder was the youngest sailor in the race.

Classic Yachts

The Swan 55 yawl Galiana WithSecure (FIN), skippered by Finland’s famous round the world sailor Tapio Lehtinen, crossed the finish line and continued with all sails aloft, all the way into Marina Bay. Galiana WithSecure won the special award for Best Swan for the Roschier Baltic Sea Race.

Swan 441 Carissa (FIN), skippered by Raija Alapeteri with an all-women ‘Ocean Ladies’ team finished the race in an elapsed time of 4 Days 19 Hrs 15 Mins 42 Secs. Carissa won the special ORA award for sustainability in the Roschier Baltic Sea Race.

To a tumultuous welcome of horns and cheering from the Roschier Baltic Sea Race fleet, the last boat to finish the race was Jens Riewe & Marcus Wilbertz’s 1976 Contessa 35 Con-Tiki (GER), co-skippered by Rainer Steinbrecher. Con-Tiki received the Roschier special award for seamanship. Working with the Coastguard, Con-Tiki stood-by to a non-competing boat which was in distress.