Gotland Runt 2021 - Thank you all for this year!

This year's edition of Gotland Runt was just as good as everyone had hoped for. After a year of pandemic and no race 2020 and a great deal of uncertainty around this year's edition, KSSS and all very hard-working officials were finally able to find a solution to be able to race. It did not turn out exactly as before, but with two start days, the starting field was spread out enough to meet the authorities' regulations, and I do not think that many sailors thought that the quality of the race itself was significantly affected. Now ORCi, Classic, shorthanded and multi-hulls started on Saturday and all SRS classes on Sunday.

The race itself was also special in many ways. We are not completely used to the easterly wind that blew during the first days and even though it created an exciting upwind out of the archipelago, it was a lot of sailing near rhumbline with focus on speed. With the 2019 race in fresh memory where the winds reached over 20 m/s, the winds in this year's race were much more modest, fluctuating between northeast and southeast at 2-6 m/s.

Then we have the weather. Yes, the weather really contributed to the fantastic sailing fest. It was a long time since you could sit with shorts all night and you put on the jacket mostly because it got a little damp later in the night. Despite the light winds, it was a relatively fast race, as the boats sailed an overall short distance and got up to good speeds when reaching even in light air.

So how did it go then? I sat and guessed results with Magnus Woxén before the race and I must say that our guesses went quite ok. Of course, new boats appeared that we did not know about. Below are the 3 best in each class.

ORCi

1. Xtra Straerk, XP 44, Artu Linnervuo, Xtra Straerk Ocen Racing
2. Team Pro4u, First 36,7 Patrik Forsgren, KSSS
3. RAY, Swan 42, Jens Nilsen, KSSS

Classic
1. Bacchant, SK75, Magnus Adlercreutz, KSSS
2. Ballad, Havskryssare, Patrik Salén, KSSS
3. Britt-Marie, SK95, Fredrik Backman, KSSS

Shorthanded SM mixed
1. Lady Godiva, Dominant 105, Anders Dahlsjö, Lerkils BS
2. Tutalör, Figaro 3, Anna Drougge, KSSS
3. Amazigh, Figaro 2, Andreas Hamrin, KSSS

SRS Shorthanded
1. Jolene, J/121, Fredrik Rydin, KSSS
2. Groovie, Sun Fast 3600, Martin Dubois, SÖBK
3. Pandion, Farr 38 c/r, Jon Sindeman, KSSS

SRS Multihull
1. Jena, Corsair 31, Bertil Claesson, Trälhavets BK
2. Plus, T-29, Magnus Groth, KSSS
3. Carbon Tiger, Farrier 33R, Börje Svedman, Nynäshamns SS

SRS A
1. L’ondine, Southern Wind 100, Martin Bjäringer, KSSS
2. Tugela, Swan 77, Mikael Ahlström, KSSS
3. Piranha, J/111, Patrick Schmidt KYC (GER)

SRS B
1. Tiki Minos, Arcona 340, Johan Karlsson, SBS
2. Mapani, Arcona 380, Erik Utterström, UmSS
3. Utopia, Arcona 380, Gunnar Nordfeldt, KSSS

SRS C
4. Necesse, C&C 35, Victor Carlstedt, KSSS
5. Cappucino, Albin Nova, Ola Barthelson, SBK
6. Boj-Boj, Scampi, Peter Forslund, RYC

Many thanks to everyone who made this year's Gotland Runt a fantastic sailing experience. A special thank you to all the volunteers who have put in a lot of time both before and during the race. Finally, we must of course thank all sailors who have come from near and far, without you there will be no race at all.

Welcome back next year!

Iohn Ryott