Three yacht races converge this month

HUNDREDS of crew aboard more than 80 yachts will sail into Lerwick harbour this month when three international races converge on Shetland.

For the first time in six years the biennial North Sea Triangle Challenge will bring 39 yachts and more than 100 crew from Den Helder, in Holland, on 21 and 22 June before they set off for Farsund, Norway, on 24 June.
This year sees the 25th anniversary of the Bergen-Shetland Race, with 47 entries and up to 200 crew arriving on 23 June for three days, including yachts from a second Norwegian port, Ǻlesund, taking part for the first time.

Fifteen of the yachts competing in the Bergen-Shetland Race are also taking part in the biennial 1000 Mile Doublehanded Race, which begins at Scheveningen, in the Netherlands, and heads for Bergen. These include Vandal, skippered by Leslie Irvine, from Lerwick.

Last year Lerwick Port Authority invested £100,000 in yachting facilities, increasing its berthing capacity by 50 per cent.

Chief executive Sandra Laurenson said: “We had a record-breaking year in 2010 with 544 yachts calling and this promises to be another great season, with the combined events this month highlighting the popularity of Lerwick and Shetland among crews.

“We are pleased our additional yacht pontoon at Albert Wharf is newly ready for the summer.”

More information can be found at www.shetland-race.no; at www.1000mile.org and at www.kustzeilers.nl/Driehoek/Driehoek.html