The winners of this year's A. Le Coq 68th Moonsund Regatta have been awarded

The winners of this year’s A. Le Coq 68th Moonsund Regatta have been awarded

On Saturday, July 19, Estonia’s oldest and largest sailing competition – the A. Le Coq 68th Moonsund / Muhu Väin Regatta – concluded in Pärnu. The regatta brought nearly one hundred yachts and almost 600 sailors from Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Sweden to Estonian waters.

This year’s regatta kicked off in Haapsalu and made its way through the harbours of Saaremaa – Kõiguste and Kuressaare – before finishing on the mainland in Pärnu. Over the course of seven days, depending on the yacht class, up to 210 nautical miles were sailed. Starting off rainy and later turning sunny with Mediterranean-like warmth, the regatta was sailed mostly in light and shifting winds, making the competition strategically challenging.

In addition to the overall winners of the regatta, the Estonian champions in offshore sailing were also determined in the ORC III and ORC IV classes.

This year’s regatta winners are: ORC I: OLYMPIC (Dago), ORC II: SUGAR (Pärnu Jahtklubi), ORC III: LILIANN (Saaremaa Merispordi Selts), ORC IV: LAGLE III (Haapsalu Jahtklubi), Folkboot: JONNA (Kalevi Jahtklubi).

The final act in Pärnu – heat and tension brought clarity

The Santa Maria Kuressaare–Pärnu stage, which lasted from Friday to Saturday, ended for many smaller yachts only in the early hours of Saturday morning. Therefore, the chief race officer, Tormi Jõgi, decided that on the final day, at the Loodus Invest Pärnu race, only three groups of larger yachts would start. The ORC I and II classes sailed a 16-mile course, while the ORC III group’s distance was 9 miles. The wins and losses in this last stage were crucial — these results ultimately determined the overall winners of the regatta.

The stage winners were OLYMPIC, SUGAR, and LILIANN.

The reigning European champions won in the ORC I class – OLYMPIC claimed victory at the last moment

In the ORC I class, the regatta culminated in an extremely intense battle. Before the final stage, at least five yachts still had a chance to win the entire regatta, but OLYMPIC put in a strong performance and secured both the stage victory and the overall regatta win.

Tiit Vihul, captain of the yacht OLYMPIC: “The victory came very hard – this was the most fiercely contested Muhu Väin Regatta of my career. Before the final stage, five teams still had a chance to win the whole regatta, but we managed it – and we are very happy about that. There was luck, bad luck, successes, disappointments – there was everything!”

Interview with Tiit Vihul https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1B6s7kjp7k/

On the final Pärnu race, Estonian national basketball team player Kaspar Treier took part in a sailing race for the first time aboard OLYMPIC and joined the winning team.

“In basketball, not all movements are precisely timed — if someone does something a little differently, nothing major happens. But here, everything is like clockwork — when the captain says it’s time to do something, everyone moves together and exactly on time. It was a really awesome experience.”

Interview with Kaspar Treier https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1Yiu4Fcz6R/

OLYMPIC narrowly outpaced FORTE (KJK, captain Jaak Jõgi) by 12 points, with FORTE finishing second with 14 points. Third place went to CLEAN ENERGY (EMRL, captain Mati Sepp), the winner of the longest stage, who finished strong with 18 points.

The best Cruiser Division yacht in the ORC I class was BERTA (Elan 380, KJK), captained by Hando Sutter, with 29 points.

SUGAR triumphed in the ORC II class

In the ORC II class, SUGAR (captain Marjaliisa Umb, Pärnu Yacht Club) shone confidently, winning two races and finishing second three times — accumulating a total of 8 points.

Marjaliisa Umb, captain of the yacht SUGAR: “The tricky winds at the start shuffled the cards, but the second half of the regatta looked more like a real sailing competition — that’s when we combined the skills of both young and experienced crew members. What stands out the most is how the entire fleet converged three times in Moonsund and the race seemed to start over again each time.”

Interview with Marjaliisa Umb https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Eu37nnA4t/

Second place went to AMSERV TOYOTA SAILING TEAM (KJK, captain Margus Žuravljov) with 13 points, and third place was taken by KATARIINA II (PJK, captain Aivar Tuulberg) with 16 points.

The best Cruiser Division yacht in the ORC II class was CHANTAL (Mannerberg 31, Haapsalu YC), captained by Avo Link.

For the yachts in the ORC I and II groups, the Moonsund Regatta served as good preparation for the Garmin ORC Offshore Sailing World Championships, which will take place from August 10 to 16 at the Kalev Yacht Club in Pirita, Tallinn.

The Estonian champions in the ORC III and IV classes are LILIANN and LAGLE III

The Estonian champions in offshore sailing were determined during the regatta in the ORC III and IV groups.

The overall winner of the ORC III class and Estonian champion is LILIANN (SMS, captain Margus Beljakov) with 14 points. Despite not reaching the time limit in one race, the crew stayed among the leaders throughout the regatta and won the decisive final race.

Second place went to the yacht PINTA (SMS, Guido Grass) with 25 points, and third to the Latvian team on NEMO R (PJC, Jānis Albertiņš) with 29 points.

In the ORC IV class, last year’s winner LAGLE III (HJK, captain Ülari Velviste) dominated with consistently high placements throughout the regatta and secured victory before the final race, winning four races and finishing second once.

Ülari Velviste, captain of LAGLE III: “Our yacht isn’t exactly a favorite in light winds, but we made very good strategic decisions — that brought the victory. Extra satisfaction comes from our junior team LAGLE II also participating and finishing seventh.”

Interview with Ülari Velviste https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1CLC4YpjgC/

Second place went to MERCURIUS (SMS, Margus Tasa) with 9 points, and third place was claimed by MERILANE (Dago, Raigo Pajula) with 10 points.

Folkboot class: five out of five wins and a family double victory

In the Folkboot class, JONNA (Kalev Yacht Club) achieved complete dominance, with Mikk Köösel at the helm and multiple-time winner Tiit Riisalo in the crew. Five races – five wins!

Tiit Riisalo: “The Estonian Folkboot fleet is one big friendly family. Since W-LIND didn’t compete this year, Mikk and I decided to team up. It was a very pleasant, warm, and relaxed regatta — a true champagne sailing experience!”

Interview with Tiit Riisalohttps://www.facebook.com/share/r/1VnA3iQBzd/

Second place was taken by daughter Liise Köösel with her all-female team on the yacht FILUR, and third place went to SIIRI (Jürgen Kukk). The best wooden Folkboot was TIINA (Meelis Lindemann).

Warm thanks and see you at future regattas!

Glass trophies crafted by Agnes Torm and regatta medals were awarded to the yachts that reached the podium. The sunny finish day in Pärnu brought much joy, friendship, photos, and shared moments.

Special thanks from the organizers to the marinas and towns: Haapsalu, Kõiguste, Kuressaare, and Pärnu — you create the spirit of this regatta!

See you at the A. Le Coq 69th Moonsund / Muhu Väina Regatta!

Winners of the A. Le Coq 68th Moonsund / Muhu Väina Regatta by class:

ORC I

OLYMPIC (X-41 mod, Jahtklubi Dago) Tiit Vihul – 12 punkti
FORTE (X-41, Kalevi Jahtklubi) Jaak Jõgi – 14 punkti
CLEAN ENERGY (E 44, EMRL / Kalevi Jahtklubi) Mati Sepp – 19 punkti

Best Cruiser: BERTA (Elan 380, Kalevi Jahtklubi) Hando Sutter – 29 punkti

ORC II

 SUGAR (Italia 9.98 F, Pärnu Jahtklubi) Marjaliisa Umb – 8 punkti
AMSERV TOYOTA ST (First 36.7 mod, Kalevi Jahtklubi) Margus Žuravljov – 13 punkti
KATARIINA II (Arcona 340, Pärnu Jahtklubi) Aivar Tuulberg – 16 punkti

Best Cruiser: CHANTAL (Mannerberg 31, Haapsalu Jahtklubi) Avo Link – 55 punkti

ORC III – Eesti Championship

LILIANN (One Off, Saaremaa Merispordi Selts) Margus Beljakov – 14 punkti
PINTA (Taurus, Saaremaa Merispordi Selts) Guido Grass – 25 punkti
NEMOR (Fareast 28R, Pavilosta Jahtklubi) Jānis Albertiņš – 27 punkti

ORC IV – Eesti Championship

LAGLE III (Finn Express 83, Haapsalu Jahtklubi) Ülari Velviste – 5 punkti
MERCURIUS (Carter 30, Saaremaa Merispordi Selts) Margus Tasa – 9 punkti
MERILANE (Albin Express, Jahtklubi Dago) Raigo Pajula – 10 punkti

Folkboot

JONNA (Folkboot, Kalevi Jahtklubi) Mikk Köösel – 4 punkti
FILUR (Folkboot, Kalevi Jahtklubi) Liise Köösel – 10 punkti
SIIRI (Folkboot, Kalevi Jahtklubi) Jürgen Kukk – 13 punkti

TIINA (Folkboot, Kalevi Jahtklubi) Meelis Lindemann – 22 punkti – Best wooden folkboot

A. Le Coq 68th partners are: A. Le Coq, Amserv, Alter Marine, Sportland Eesti, Loodus Invest, Alexela, Joik Eesti, Pantaenius, LTT, Apotheka, Mount Gay, Liviko, DSV, Santa Maria, Baltic Cruisers, Visit Saaremaa, GST Marine Paadipood ja Visit Pärnu. https://muhuvain.ee/partnerid/

The chief organizer of the regatta is Kalevi Jahtklubi and co-organizers are Estonian Sailing Union, Haapsalu Yacht Club, Grand Holm Marina, Kõiguste marina, Kuressaare Marina, Saaremaa Merispordi Selts and Pärnu Yacht Club.

Follow the regatta https://muhuvain.ee/jalgi-regatti/

Results https://www.manage2sail.com/et-EE/event/muhuvainaregatt2025#!/results?classId=orc1

Regatta webpage: https://muhuvain.ee/

Regatta Official Notice Board: https://www.manage2sail.com/et-EE/event/muhuvainaregatt2025#!/

Regatta Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/muhuvainaregatt/

Regatta Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/muhuvainaregatt/

The movement of the boats on the race course can be reviewed for all stages via TracTrac https://tractrac.com/event-page/event_20250711_MuhuVina/3127