Northern Europe
Festivals and races
The north of Europe is a mixed bag with everything from huge maritime festivals to the sleeker side of yachting... metre yachts and skerry cruisers... embodied annually by races in Germany and Scandinavia. This year marks the return of the world’s biggest maritime festival at Brest, quadrennial, but cancelled for covid in 2002. It is followed immediately by the world’s second largest festival – Douarnenez.
SWEDEN AND FINLAND
28 JUNE – 3 JULY Gotland Runt (Around Gotland Race)
Stockholm-Visby-Sandhamn, Sweden; 220nm passage race ksss.se
25-28 JULY
Airisto Classic Regatta
Abo Batvarf, Turku, Finland airistosegelsallskap.fi
7-10 AUGUST Sandhamn Regatta
Sandhamn, Sweden
Offshore race for classic yachts ksss.se
17 AUGUST Viaporin Tuoppi
Helsinki, Finland
Big wooden boat regatta english.viaporintuoppi.fi
24 AUGUST
HSS Baltic Classic Masters Champagne Regatta
Helsinki, Finland
Classic sail-racing regatta helsinkisailing.com
NORWAY
1-3 AUGUST (TBC) Risør Traditional Boat Festival
Risør, nwmaritime.org
FRENCH ATLANTIC COAST
12-28 JULY
Five Lights Series
New series in the Channel and French Atlantic coast, taking in Cowes Classics Week (see p40) and the following events. See classic-channel-regatta.eu
14-15 JULY: Classic CowesDartmouth Race. New race from Cowes Classics Week to Dartmouth for the classic Channel Regatta 17-25 JULY: Classic Channel
Regatta. Biennial offshore race, Dartmouth – St Peter Port –
Paimpol (Brest) 26-28 JULY: Coupe de l’Amorique. New passage race, Paimpol to Brest
27-30 JUNE
La Belle Plaisance
Benodet, Brittany, yco-voile.fr
12-14 JULY
Voiles Classiques de la Trinité
Brittany snt-voile.org
12-17 JULY
Brest Maritime Festival
Brittany marinasbrest.fr
18-21 JULY
Douarnenez Maritime Festival
Brittany douarnenez-tourisme.co.uk
7-11 AUGUST
Voiles de Legende
La Baule yachtclubclassique.com
GERMANY
15-23 JUNE Classic Week
Kiel, classic-week.de
AUGUST (DATE TBC) Hamburg Summer Classics
hamburger-segel-club.de
15-18 AUGUST German Classics
Laboe, german-classics.info
NETHERLANDS
2-3 JULY
Dutch Wooden Boat Festival
Willemsoord, Den Helder dutchwoodenboatfestival.nl
11-15 SEPTEMBER Dorestad Raid
Echtenerbrugge, natuurlijkvaren.nl
BELGIUM
1-4 JUNE
Oostende Voor Anker
oostendevooranker.be
TALL SHIPS RACES
27 JUNE – 5 AUGUST Tall Ships Races 2024
sailtraininginternational.org Klaipeda (Lithuania), Helsinki (Finland), Tallinn (Estonia), Turku (Finland), Mariehamn (Aaland Islands) and Szczecin (Poland)
15 AUGUST – 10 SEPTEMBER Falmouth to Cadiz
Falmouth (UK) – A Coruna (Spain) – Lisbon (Portugal) – Cadiz (Spain) sailtraininginternational.org