Aegean 600: "Rafale" crosses the finish line with a new monohull record: De Bokay: "Everything you want from 600 nautical miles"

Henri de Bokay's Elliot "Rafale" has set a new monohull record in the Aegean 600. Tilmar Hansen's ex-"Outsider" completed the second edition of the still young long-distance race in 63 hours, 2 minutes and 20 seconds. The majority German crew around skipper Philipp Kadelbach beat the old record of the Farr/Felci 40 "Atalanta" at the premiere (71 hours, 54 minutes) by around nine hours. "That was an outstanding race that offered everything you want from a 600-mile race," said "Rafale" owner Henri de Bokay, "it wasn't easy, it wasn't a cruise. We worked hard and experienced everything from smooth water to 30 knots of wind on the race course. And it was challenging to navigate the many wind changes around the islands." The team is planning to take part in more long-distance races in the future.

The extent to which the crew had to contend with the forces acting on their boat with a tilting keel is shown by the damage to the "Rafale": the tack fitting of a reaching headsail broke, the A2 burst and two halyards also broke. Rafale narrowly missed out on the overall ORC and IRC victories in the Aegean 600. The Germans were around 15 minutes behind Gregor Stimpfl's "Hagar V" in the final handicap calculation. The Scuderia 65 crossed the finish line around an hour after "Rafale". "We're still just happy and proud," said Philipp Kadelbach.

Philipp Kadelbach continued: "We had a good watch system with 'four on, four off'. The nice thing about a race like this is that you never get cold. It was extremely exhausting, but everyone always had energy. There were some unbelievably beautiful moments, for example when crossing the Santorini archipelago. Or just before the finish at Mykonos, where you can hear the parties on land. Then again, you're racing around Kos in 30 knots of wind. The passage on the back of Rhodes was also challenging. Because it's a huge stone colossus, there's a calm behind it. Ten minutes before you've chopped the A2 into 30 knots and then the wind is switched off. Our tactician Shaun Pammenter says this race could become a classic. I can well imagine it too. Elsewhere there are maybe five difficult corners on a long course, here there are 15. It was an incredibly exciting and exhausting race, but also incredibly beautiful in terms of the weather and the course."

Overall, the second edition of the Aegean 600 played into the hands of the fast and larger yachts this year. Jean-Philippe Blancpain's crew on the Vismara Mills 62 "Leaps and Bounds 2" fought a thrilling duel with the "Hagar V" under the Italian flag in the first half of the race. The multihull line honours in the race went to the 24-metre Green Marine catamaran "Allegra".