Latvia's largest offshore sailing regatta the Gulf of Riga Regatta 2020 will take place!

After the state of emergency situation is suspended in Latvia, the organizers of the Gulf of Riga Regatta (#GoRR) have made decision to organize competitions this year. 41 yachts from six countries have already applied for participation in the regatta. Among them are world and European champions.

”In a few days, the number of yachts that register for the regatta has doubled. Of course, we are happy about it, but we are also concerned that the number of participants will exceed the allowed limits set by the authorities, if so registrations will have to be suspended. If this is the case, we will not be able to secure the title of the Latvian Open Sailing Champion during #GoRR this year,” explains Valters Romans, Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Offshore Sailing Association (LOSA). V.Romans points out that currently yachts, unprecedented in Latvian regattas, have applied for the competition - teams from Finland, Sweden, Poland, Estonia and Lithuania.

Among them teams who have been awarded in world and European championships. He also emphasizes that competition is the driving force of sailing regattas, the stronger is the competitors, the faster will develop sailing on the national level and, not to mention, there is still a room to grow, if, for instance, we compare the development of sailing with our Baltic neighbors;

#GoRR will start in less than two weeks and, as the organizers of the competition explain, currently it is being prepared under tense pressure. “During the epidemiological restriction period the situation with this season’s sports competitions were uncertain in Latvia and, we could only guess, when the existing restrictions would be decreased. Surely, we have been thinking a lot whether to take a risk this year and, if there is an opportunity, to organize the competition, or to postpone it until the next year. We realized that there are a lot of things that will have to be adapted to the “new - normal” situation, but we chose not to go the easy-way and decided to take a course of the competition in a very short time. Sailors are thirsty for regattas and we just cannot disappoint them,” says V. Romans.

This year, the Gulf of Riga Regatta will open on June 28 in Ventspils. It will last five days, and you will be able to follow the regatta on-line via global positioning system. The competition fleet will call in Estonia, in the port of Saaremaa Montu. After that, the regatta will linger for two days in Roja, where the short windward-leeward distances will take place and they are most convenient for the media and spectators to watch. The regatta will end on July 3 in Salacgriva. As usual, in cooperation with the Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology, the attention of sailors and the public will be drawn to the health of the Baltic Sea environment. The competition is organized by the Latvian Offshore Sailing Association in cooperation with the Latvian Sailing Union, Roja Sailing School, Ventspils Yacht Port, Salacgriva Port Authority and Saaremaa Merispordi Selts.

Additional information Official regatta website https://gorr.lv/lv
The information was prepared by Ilona Skorobogatova #GoRR organizer Email: gulfregatta@gmail.com M.t. +371 259 22 782

Photo courtesy - Jānis Spurdziņš.