The idea of a new 635-mile race in The Baltic Sea was the brain-child of the Ocean Racing Alliance.
At the core of the Finnish organisation are three passionate RORC sailors: Jan Paukkunen, Sakari Kalske and Ari Känsäkoski, who have all competed in the Rolex Fastnet Race and RORC Caribbean 600. ORA proposed a race, starting and finishing in Helsinki, and approached the Royal Ocean Racing Club to organise it.
Deciding on the course for the race required complex analysis with the objective of producing a safe and challenging race. Generally, the course is an anti-clockwise circuit of the Baltic Sea with the rarity of rounding three lighthouses as well as the Swedish island of Gotland. The proximity of land at all of the marks of the course provided strategic options and the lack of strong tides prevented the course from becoming one-sided.
On 21 July 2022, that idea became reality, when over 200 sailors including all of the ORA founders, crossed the start line of the inaugural Roschier Baltic Sea Race. Sailors from 18 different nations took part. Teams from Poland, Germany, Sweden and Finland won honours in the race, with a fairy tale overall victory under IRC for the smallest boat; Salla Kaven’s Finnish H-323 Silver Moon II.
