6 November 2022
The
Garmin Round Denmark Race 2023 is going to change significantly in
several ways. Among the very big changes will be when the race in
2023 introduces participation by the ORC Club measurement rule as an
option. This means that among the participating keelboats an overall
winner will be awarded."After this year's race, we have made several evaluation rounds. The first took place in Aarhus immediately after the race. Here there were several participants who expressed a desire to sail by a measurement rule. We listened, and now we are going to try it in 2023," says Morten Brandt from Shorthand ecm. He goes on to say that they are currently working with the title "Winner of the Open Danish Offshore Challenge".
"We don't have it quite in place yet. It may also be that we use "The Open Nordic Offshore Competition” as a title,” he says. "After all, the event is already an international event with the participation of up to 10 different nationalities. When we choose an all-around winner after the ORC Club, it makes good sense to use one of these titles or even a third."
The participants must obtain a valid ORC Club certificate, which they must use when registering from the 11th of November or no later than 14 days before Race day on 3 August. It will of course still be possible to sail according to the adventure sail racing categories, where the boats are divided into classes according to length LOA. Here the category winners will be determined and awarded as well as Line Honors winners awarded.
The next change will be that all boats start at the same time. On the offshore course on Thursday 3 August, on the inshore course on Saturday 5 August. Following the French model, this will be a Grand Depart start, where all boats start at the same time on one long starting line, which is divided into sections.
This is in stark contrast to the two previous editions of the GRDR, where starts have been made on different days at different times with the aim of getting boats to the finish line at the same time for a closing party.
"We have recognized that the Garmin Round Denmark Race is the longest sailing race in the Nordics,” says Jon Koch Hansen from Sailing Aarhus. "With 650 and 760 nautical miles it is not possible to get the boats to the finish line at approximately the same time. That is why we have chosen to turn things upside down, so that we get a bang from the start with many boats on the line and with good traffic past the two Garmin Fly By buoys just outside Aarhus International Sailing Center."
“This also means that we are moving the After Party to be the Pre Party,” says Thomas Capitani of the Aarhus International Sailing Center. "The party will be before the start. This way we get a get together the dining and the skipper's meeting on Wednesday afternoon/evening in Esbjerg and Friday afternoon/evening in Aarhus. We therefore hope that all of Wednesday in Esbjerg and especially all of Friday in Aarhus as well as part of Saturday will be a unifying event, where participants and sponsors will have the opportunity to look each other in the eye, talk about tactics, equipment, routing etc., while the atmosphere builds up before docking out and start."
The title sponsor Garmin Danmark has been an important part of the entire work with the new format for the Nordics' toughest sail race. And no wonder expectations are hight for the 2023 edition of the event.
"We are happy to be part of the Garmin Round Denmark Race again in 2023,” says Christine Jaeger from Garmin Denmark. “And we look forward to the new initiatives and the new start dates in August, as we hope that this will open up to even more possible participants. Denmark is a fantastic country for sailing and everyone deserves to experience our beautiful coasts. We also hope that this is an event that can inspire many newcomers to try real offshore racing."
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