Göran Schildt, a Finnish scholar and author renowned for his mediterranean sailing adventures on his boat Daphne, died on 24 March 2009. Immediately thereafter the idea of organizing a sailing event honouring his memory was born. Since Leros had been Daphne’s home port since 1965, it was natural that the memorial sailing event would be based on this island in the southeast Aegean Sea. From the outset, the Regatta has been sailed in the waters of the North Dodecanese Sea, which Göran Schildt referred to as “a yachtsman’s paradise”.

     The International Göran Schildt Regatta (GSR) combines sailboat racing with varied cultural programmes. The 11th International Göran Schildt Regatta is organized by The Leros Nautical Club under the auspices of the Hellenic Sailing Federation and in cooperation with Christine Schildt, through the association Friends of Villa Kolkis. The cultural programmes are arranged by the Lerian cultural association Artemis.

     The GSR has become known as “the friendship regatta”. Although it is open to offshore racing boats in its ORC or Open Class the aim is, first and foremost, to attract cruising boats and sailors from various countries. While obviously the racing element is present, companionship as well as the social and cultural aspects are equally important elements, just as they were for Göran Schildt, whose legacy and memory the Regatta honours – this year for the 10th time. For this reason a special prize – the Daphne Trophy – is every year awarded to the Regatta’s worthiest of friendship boat and crew.

The first regatta in 2010

2010

     “The Göran Schildt Memory Race” was organized for the first time in 2010 as an offshore race around the island of Leros, beginning on September 22^nd. About a hundred sailors participated in the first race. The event lasted for three days and contained, in addition to the race itself, cultural programmes as well as opening and closing ceremonies. The opening was held in the cinema of Lakki and the finish was celebrated in the facilities of The Nautical Club.

GS Memory Race since 2011

2011

     As the first Göran Schildt offshore race was immediately recognized as a great success, it was decided to make it an annual event, one which would go on to be included in the Hellenic Sailing Federation's annual programme.

     In 2011 the GS Memory Race was sailed on 21 September. The wind speed was over force six on the Beaufort scale and, therefore, the organizers decided to shorten the race route. Instead of sailing around the island of Leros, the route was now reduced to include only Piganoussa. This small island is located just to the east of Leros at latitude 37˚7′ N. The race went well and during the festivities, participants were also treated to a concert by a choir from the Music Institute of Raseborg (Finland).

     In 2012 the GS Memory Race was held on September, 22 and now it was again possible to pursue the entire race around Leros despite quite strong winds. The cultural association Artemis entertained the participants and followers of the Regatta with music and dance performances. When it was time to plan for the sailing event in 2013 the idea of extending the concept to that of a proper regatta took root. GSMR had now been sailed for three years and the event was ripe to evolve to including several days of sailing. This would entail more work for the organizers, but would also provide a great deal of additional value for the regatta participants. At the same time, the competitive aspects were toned down whereas the element of solidarity between sailors was stressed. In the true spirit of Göran Schildt the event would now include visits to small exotic Greek islands.

Since 2013 we started to visit the small islands around Leros

2013

     Said and done, in 2013, it was time for the first regatta and the sailing route was as follows: Leros (Lakki) – Arki – Levitha – Leros (Lakki). The participants appreciated the concept and “The Göran Schildt Regatta / The GS Regatta” was born. Both Arki and Levitha are small islands with very few inhabitants. On Arki the association Artemis presented music and dance performances. There was also a Finnish girl choir from Raseborg entertaining the sailors.

     In 2014 the sailing event had its fifth anniversary. The expectations were high and the route was as follows: Leros (Lakki) – Lipsi – Agathonisi – Leros (Lakki). The Regatta took place 15 – 18 September 2014. The five-year Jubilee attracted twenty-eight boats from eight different countries and altogether over one hundred and fifty sailors. In 2014, The GS Regatta became the second largest international regatta in Greece. It was also the first year that several Turkish boats entered the race.

     In 2015 (13 – 17 September), the refugee situation and Greece's economic problems made the event very challenging for the organizers. A few days before the regatta would commence, a sailor who had participated in the races since the start in 2010 reported that he was with his boat on the island of Agathonisi and that there were so many refugees there that it would be impossible to use its port during the regatta. The plan had been to sail along the route Leros – Lipsi – Agathonisi – Leros. The route now had to be changed at the last moment and the small island of Arki was chosen to replace Agathonisi.

     On 12 – 15 September 2016 the Göran Schildt Regatta was organized for the seventh time. After having tried the concept of a five-day regatta in 2015, the organizers returned to a four-day regatta in 2016. For the first time in seven years, the island of Patmos was included. The sailing route was Leros – Patmos – Lipsi – Leros.

     The event attracted twenty-five boats. Notably, all the boats crossing the starting line also completed the race. Only one boat had to drop out of the race at the distance Leros – Patmos. The stretch up towards Patmos was sailed in strong headwinds and s/y Sifnos 50.3 had to drop out due to technical problems with the mainsail boom. Eighteen boats from five nations competed in the Open Class, which was won by the Swede Rolf Hallberg and his boat s/y Antina 2. Open Class is the group where the chartered boats compete and this time also three charter boats from Kos took part in the race. All charter boats had Finnish crews. In the Open Class group nine Swedish, four Finnish, two Greek, two Italian and one British boat competed. In ORC Club seven Greek boats were competing for the victory and this time it was Peter Kalomoiris boat s/y Ilektra that prevailed.

     It was now the third year that the Daphne trophy was in circulation. It had been established in 2014 to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the regatta, and was won for the first time by Åke Hjort / SWE (s/y Swea). In 2015 the trophy was handed over to Hannu Rajala / FIN (s/y Seadiana) and in 2016 it was once again won by a Swedish boat. The winner this time was Lennart Königson / SWE (s/y Robust). Over the years the, regatta has had a very competent team of judges who have done an outstanding job under the leadership of Panagiotis Dimitrakopoulos.

     The year 2017 marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Göran Schildt. Therefore the 8th regatta took the form of a jubilee celebration. For the first time in its history, the Regatta was sailed over four days while covering a distance of one hundred nautical miles.

     The event attracted forty boats and thus became the largest regatta in the history of the GSR. This time also the beautiful islands of Lipsi, Samos and Patmos were visited. The most distinguished feature of this edition of the regatta was the lack of wind. There was almost no wind at all until the third day when sailing from Samos to Patmos. The position of the starting line had to be altered and also the starting time was changed several times. However, on the third attempt the participants found wind and had a good race to Patmos. Also the following day’s sailing from Patmos to Leros was blessed with strong winds.The winner of The Göran Schildt Regatta 2017 was the Turkish boat s/y Aquavit / Selcuk Borgkci whereas The Daphne Trophy was awarded to the Greek boat s/y Estia / Hugo Tiberg.

     In 2018 we were sailed the route Leros-Agathonisi-Samos-Leros with one layday at Samos. There was a strong northwestern wind all the way from Leros to Agathonisi and further on to Samos. All 22 boats managed to reach Samos despite the hard conditions (winds in the range of 20 – 25 m/s). A cultural programme was arranged at Samos, where The Museum of Samos Wine and the famous Tunnel of Eupalinos were visited. This aqueduct, measuring 1033 m in length, was built in the mid-6th century BC to transport water from the Ayades spring to the southern part of Samos. The participants stayed in the Samos Marina at Pythagorio, a well-sheltered marina with great moorings. A joint dinner was organized at the restaurant Aphrodite.

     The sailing back to Leros was in light wind from the North and the finishing port was Agia Marina. In the closing ceremony the Daphne Trophy was awarded to the Swedish crew of Cache Cache with Anders Graffner as skipper.

Ten years of international friendship regattas

2019

     The 10th Regatta took place on 16 – 19.9.2019 and the route was Leros – Patmos – Samos – Leros. Three races were organised during four days. A total of 22 boats, representing seven nationalities, participated. A Göran Schild photo exibition was opened in Lakki Elementary school on 15.9. The 10th event was celebrated with Greek music and dances in the Lakki Theatre. The orchestra was led by maestro Zafiris Koukouselis. Artemis' dancers presented Greek dances.

     The first race was organised on Monday 16. September from Lakki (Leros) towards Patmos. Distance was 18,4 NM. The wind blew from the North. Wind speed was some 20 – 22 kts outside Lakki and increased to 25 – 27 kts when approaching finishing line at Patmos. All 21 boats reached the finishing line at Patmos within the time limit set. The second race was between Patmos and Samos and the number of participating boats 22. The distance was 29,6 NM. Windspeed was 0 – 16 kts. Wind died for some hours before the finishing line at Pythagorion, but recovered and all boats were able to cross the finising line. Wednesday was a layday at Samos with no wind. A joint dinner was organised at restaurant Aphrodite with musical contributions from several boats.

     The third race started on Thursday morning from Pythagorion (Samos Marina) to Psathonisi island at Agathonisi. The distance was12,2 NM and the wind was only 2 – 4 kts. The wind recovered midway to Psathonisi to 6 – 7 some kts. All but one boat reached the finishing line by 15 PM. Prize giving ceremony with joint dinner was arranged at Leros Nautical Club at 21 PM.

     Over-all winner was the Italian boat Buriana II. Second was the Swedish boat Robust and third the Italian Phébé.

     The Daphne trophy was awarded to the Swedish – Brittish crew at Tosca II (Michael and Kerstin Powell et Co). The trophé is awarded to worthiest of friendship boat and crew, now for the seventh time. The winner was selected by the earlier holder of the trophy Anders and Birgitta Graffner.

     A special childrens boat prize was awarded to Finnish crew Sampo Valtonen and Asko Lehmuskallio and two brave five years old children that took part in the race.

     Warm regards to all participants, the co-organizers in Patmos and Samos and all the people, who contributed with their free work to organise the Regatta and to create a warm atmosphere. Special thanks to Artemis musicians and dancers and to our race officer Antonis Assimacos, the chairman of Leros Nautical Club Alexis Charalampidis and the Club. The participants expressed their gratitude to the Samos Marina for their hospitality and good service.

The 2022 Göran Schildt Friendship Regatta

What we did, who we were, where we came from and the boats we sailed, by Lennart Königsson.

Highlights

The boat with the youngest crew won the race – Austrian First 456 Trinity with two teenage girls and Walter Kraher - a somewhat more senior skipper.

The boat with the most senior crew won the Daphne Trophy – Swan 51 Aquileia with 81 year old skipper Spartaco Apolitoni and his all Italian crew.

All in all 22 boats had registered for the regatta. All came and all completed this year's three races

day one from Lakki to Lipsi,

day two around Lipsi and,

day three from Lipsi back to Lakki.

Day by day

After a Skippers' Meeting on Sunday September 25th the sailors were treated to an Opening Ceremony in the shaded garden of the Nautical Club of Leros' clubhouse. It featured a film about the Finnish author and exploring sailor Göran Schildt who made Leros his home and who called the waters of the regatta "a sailor's paradise.".

The first day's race started at midday the following day. The time for the start was set not to interfere with the morning's celebration of the Olga Day – memorizing the sinking during WW2 in Lakki of Olga, a famous Greek naval vessel, and the loss of its entire crew.

Once outside the Lakki bay the NW light wind gradually shifted to west so the racing fleet could reach all the way to Lipsi – for most boats a pleasant four to five hour trip.

The long pier in Lipsi was soon filled up with boats docked side by side and stern to and with sailors meeting friends both old and new in neighbouring boats.

The planned route for the second race (Lipsi-Agathonisi) was changed due to expected strong southerly winds over Agathonisi and its small port exposed to the south. Instead the course for second race became around Lipsi. This turned out to be both a wise as well as an appreciated change. The race around Lipsi offered excellent sailing on all headings. This type of course will no doubt be taken into account when planning the courses of future regatta events.

The southerly wind – although unusual for the season – continued during the third day giving the GSR fleet a full course of close hauled sailing in open and sometimes quite choppy seas. In this year's regatta all boats were tested during reaching, running as well as close hauled sailing in generally good winds.

Everybody got in in good time for the traditional Closing Ceremony and prize giving event under the trees in the clubhouse garden. As always, there was lots of food, music, singing and dancing and many happy faces.

Sailors of many nationalities and all ages

The 22 boats were crewed by 67 men, 14 women and 2 dogs. The average number of crew per boat was 3.7 but as many as five boats were sailed by their man and wife owners while seven had a crew of five or more.

The Göran Schildt Regatta has become a truly international event. The 22 crews represented 12 countries with Finland accounting for five boats and 28 crew followed by four Swedish boats with a combined crew of 14. This year the regatta was also joined by two Australian boats with nine Australians as crew.

Here are all the countries represented among this year's crew members

Someone once said that many GSR participants are sunset sailors for whom the companionship and friendship of the regatta brighten their twilight sailing years. The crew lists for this year's regatta shows that this continues to be true.

Almost 60 percent of the participants were between 61 and 80 years old. What is nice is that some that are 80 years and more continue to enjoy the regatta.

Cruising sailors and cruising boats

The GSR sailors are cruising sailors. Their boats have spent many seasons cruising the waters, bays and islands of Greece and other areas in the Mediterranean. The average GSR boat in 2022 was 25 years old but the winning boat Trinity is almost 40 years old. Mayflower, a sleek wooden beauty built in a Swedish yard 72 years ago is the fleets oldest.

The GSR regatta with its simple handicap rule also makes it possible for the very small to quite large cruising boats to compete on equal terms. This year the smallest boat was less than half the size of the biggest – the 26 feet Menina Nor sailed by Leros Nautical Club's Commodore as compared to Blue Bird of Tannö – a 54 foot Sun Odyssey with Swedish crew. The median boat length was 42 feet.

More than half of this year's GSR flotilla comprised boats and crews that had participated in earlier regattas. Some, like Finnish Mikimax, have taken part in every previous regatta event.