Saiboats in the city during ÅF Off Shore Race

Water and Stockholm belong together. One of the world's largest sailing races for seagoing boats, ÅF Offshore Race  (previously Gotland Runt), starts for the second year in a row at Stockholms Ström in the middle of Stockholm. Two-hundred boats in several different classes will take part in the race. The race starts on Sunday June 30, but the boats arrive already on Thursday June 27th.

On Sunday, June 30, the various classes will start out from Stockholms Ström just beyond Kastellholmen, and the docks around Strömmen and the heights of Söder will be filled with sailing enthusiasts.

The course goes from Stockholms Ström via Sandhamn in Stockholm's archipelago, around Gotland and then back to Sandhamn where the prizes will be awarded and a regatta dinner held. New this year for the main event is that the course goes counter-clockwise around Gotland, which hasn't been the case for several years. Race management simply wanted to give the contestants a new challenge and a little variation.

Beginning on Thursday, June 27, the competing boats will begin arriving at the event area and the docks at Södra Blasieholmshamnen, Skeppsholmen and Kastellholmen, where there will be both entertainment and a restaurant.

Also new for this year is a sprint race for those who for various reasons, are happy with just sailing from Strömmen to Sandhamn. The race begins on Saturday afternoon, June 29, and the boats will cross the finish line later the same day, out at Sandhamn.

Photo: Oscar Kihlborg/KSSS