Baltic Sea Race

This summer saw the inaugural Roschier Baltic Sea Race take place, organised by RORC together with the Ocean Racing Alliance. The 630nm course started and finished in the historic capital of Helsinki, tracing the picturesque Finnish coastline before rounding the Swedish island of Gotland and returning north-eastwards. It drew nearly 30 teams from across the region and from as far afield as USA.

Among them was the sole British entry, 'Dawn Treader', a JPK 1180 owned by keen offshore racer, Ed Bell. More usually based on the UK’s south coast, Ed had his sights set on a fresh challenge this summer, and the Roschier Baltic Sea Race provided exactly that.

It took a crew of two just seven days to deliver 'Dawn Treader' to the region, sailing via the Kiel Canal. Having travelled there extensively on business in the past, Ed was excited by the prospect of spending time afloat so far north.

He explains: “We did a lot of races in the UK last year in the build-up