The 2014 Moonsund Regatta will visit the restored Kärdla harbour in Hiiumaa |
Moonsund is the longest established offshore sailing event in Estonia and the largest of its kind in the Baltic Countries. The regatta is growing in popularity every year and expects at least 110 teams and 700 crewmembers from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Finland and Sweden. The regatta will set sail in Haapsalu and proceed through the ports of Kärdla, Kuivastu and Pärnu towards the final destination Roomassaare.
The distance of
the regatta was determined based on the positive feedback received after the
2013 races, the only difference being that instead of Heltermaa the fleet will
visit Kärdla harbour to be reopened in spring 2014.
The opening ceremony of
the 57th
Moonsund Regatta will take place in Haapsalu on July 12 where the event will be
launched in cooperation with the City of Haapsalu. The first race of the
regatta takes yachts to Kärdla harbour in Hiiumaa where everyone will be warmly
welcomed by Hiiu local government. The next destination will be Kuivastu on Muhu Island. From Kuivastu the fleet will race towards Pärnu.
Pärnu will host the regatta for three
days, where the most competitive event will definitely be the upwind-downwind
race on Wednesday. The spectators will again be able to get a close-up on the
sea. RUNÖ turned out to be a real attraction and very popular this year as all
the seats were fully sold out.
The longest race that
will be partly held at night will finish at the regatta’s final destination
Roomassaare. The final event of the exciting and intense week will be the award
ceremony on July 19 at Roomassaare harbour.
Moonsund
Regatta will stop in Kärdla harbour to promote local sailing traditions. The
man behind the renovations of the harbour Hillar
Kukk, who has sailed twice around the world, talks about the history of the
harbour: „Kärdla’s historic harbour was established in 1849 to service the then
felt and baize factory. The harbour played an important role in the life of the
town also in the beginning of the 20th century. However, it was
destroyed in the bombings of 1944. The modern harbour, to be reopened in spring
2014, will be able to dock 60 boats. With this Kärdla will become a maritime
town again where sailing will be a natural part of its everyday life. We are
eager for the Moonsund Regatta to visit our town and Hiiu local government will
see to the catering, entertainment and awards of the first race. We will give
our best so that a lot of yachts would want to come back here.“
Also Juss Ojala, the captain of Moonsund
2013 winner s/y Amserv from YC DAGO, Hiiumaa, has reasons to rejoice: „All Hiiumaa sailors have long waited for this harbour. We have dreamed and
talked about it for the last 20 years. Back when we were sailing on dinghies under
Coach Ott Epner, each spring we had to build a new pier in order to get the
boats on water as the ice had taken its toll over winter. We have been dreaming
of our own harbour since then already. Years later, when we formed an offshore
team with guys from Hiiumaa and Pärnu, we all agreed that our home club will be
DAGO. With that decision we hoped to facilitate and promote Kärdla and Hiiumaa.
Being able to sail into Kärdla harbour and come ashore there for the very first
time, will definitely be an awesome moment!“. For the same reasons DAGO has
been the home club also for s/y Olympic, which was third in ORC I class at Moonsund
2013.
Six months
are left until the beginning of the 57th Moonsund Regatta but it’s
high time to make plans for your summer holiday in order to be able to enjoy
Estonian summer and participate in this awesome event.
* Hiiumaa, also known as Dagö, is the second largest island
(989 km²) in Estonia. It’s located in the Baltic Sea, north of Saaremaa, a part of West Estonian
archipelago. Its largest town is Kärdla.
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