The Blue Cup Regatta

The Blue Cup in Greece

A regatta among the Greek isles, November 3 to 11 2001

The Greek isles is a great place for a regatta at this time of year. In Greece, it is early fall, with sunny days, water still warm after the summer, but few tourists around.

The 12th International Blue Cup Regatta

The first competition was in 1990, and only a small number of French Beneteau yachts participated. Since then, its popularity has increased year by year. In November 2000, 40 crews joined the race. There were several more who wanted to participate, but unfortunately a larger number cannot be accepted due to the nature of the race and the small Greek ports we visit at the end of every day. Because of this, it is important to book early if you want to be part of this adventure!

It's great fun!

Sure, there's competition. But this is a fun & sun type of regatta, where the social part is equally important. The yachts are divided into the Oceanis and First classes, where the latter gathers most of the serious racers...

The regatta itself takes place over the dates of November 5 to 9, which leaves a couple of days before and after for sailing on your own.

Some pictures from the 2000 regatta

The pictures below are taken on the third day of the competition, outside the beautiful island of Hydra. Even at this time, in early November, there's 28 degrees in the air, 22 in the water. On this day, there's very little wind, which does not seem to trouble the crew much...

The first two pictures are of the crew from the winners of our own Salty Seas Shetland Race 2000; a very different ocean yacht race across the North Sea between Norway and Shetland (Scotland) and back. The prize from this race was free yacht and participation in the Blue Cup. Already having proved their abilities in this heavy duty race (check this picture to see what we mean), it would be an exaggaration to claim they repeated the success in the Blue Cup - but they certainly did have a good time! We'll do the same, as well as free yacht and participation in the Marmaris Race Week in Turkey, for the winners of the Salty Seas Shetland Race 2001.

By clicking on the pictures below, you'll open a larger version in a separate window.

Happy winners of the Salty Seas Shetland Race 2000 Not quite like the North Sea...
5 minutes to the start, and the crew is in hard preparation 2 minutes to the start and ready to go!
We have started, but the skipper is swimming behind the racing yacht and taking pictures The crew is calling for those who have passed us to behave themselves and slow down

Prices and booking for the Blue Cup Regatta 2001

As mentioned above: Due to the limit of 40 participating yachts and a large number of regular participants you do need to book early. Many book for next year as soon as they are back from the previous race, and about half of the fleet has already been booked.

Yacht LOA (m) Berths Year Price
First 40.7 11.70 6-8 2001 2520
First 42s7 11.99 6-8 1994/96 2620
First 45f5 14.10 10 1990/94 2945
First 47.7 14.20 8-10 2000/01 3960
Oceanis 311 9.85 4-6 1999/01 1520
Oceanis 331 10.10 6-8 2000/01 1770
Oceanis 361 10.80 6-8 1999/01 1910
Oceanis 381 11.75 6-8 1996/00 2055
Oceanis 393 11.60 6-8 2001 2155
Oceanis 400 11.98 6-8 1992/95 2195
Oceanis 411 12.71 8-10 1997/01 2680
Oceanis 461 14.00 8-10 1996/00 3090
Oceanis 473 14.13 8-10 2001 3270
Beneteau 50 15.48 10-12 1997/00 4860

The prices are in Euro and include: Yacht charter, full insurance, entry fee, end cleaning. There are no additional taxes or hidden costs. Payment: 50% upon booking confirmation, 50% upon embarkation in Athens. More information on the yachts is available by clicking the left side menu.

We'll be sailing this race again ourselves. You are welcome to join! ;-)