F18 Sweden: Raid Noir 2014 (Plus Russian Sub hunting..)

Images by Max Rehman Linder. Nothing better than sail the Stockholm beautiful Archipelago and enjoygin Post Cold War Russian Subs Hunting along the way….! Report sent by Lars Linder: “We had a pretty awesome raid in the Stockholm Archipelago.

This weekend the Swedish F18 sailors had their final race for the season : Raid Noir. This year edition was the best ever from a sailing perspective, but what everyone will remember most is the presence of the Swedish Navy in hunt for the presumed Russian submarine.

The drama began at lunchstop on Saturday when a couple of teams decided to turn back to base due to the forecast with winds over 30 knots at night. The remaining six teams continued leg 2 with a fantastic half wind leading through a tricky passage with some underwater rocks. One of the teams was unlucky and hit a rock so hard that both hulls where damaged. The security boat was able to assist just as one of the hulls sank under water.

The night stop was great with a good sauna, nice food and great company in a private summer house on a private island. In the morning the heavy rain ceased and the wind dropped to a nice 15-20 knots. The last leg started with a 10 Nautical Mile downwind at full speed. It was an amazing sight to see the 5 colourful gennakers hurling downwind round rocks and skerries ans war ships and combat boats in the hunt for Red October.”