Andros Sailing Race: Firsts for Olympian Kostas Manthos and Giorgio Furuno

Winds with changes in direction and intensity, strong currents and gusts were the “riddles” that the sailors had to solve in order to complete the first race of the 56^u Andros International Sailing Race “Ioannis V. Goulandris”. The winner, in the general ranking, was the “Giorgio Furuno” skippered by Olympian Kostas Manthos and M. Pitta. Aristofani – Diana Shipping Services SA with S. Kambouridis stood out in the Performance category.

From the first race, Andros’ historic race confirmed the nickname “The toughest race”. The special weather conditions made it difficult for the crews this year too, as some of them finished after 04:00, i.e. they stayed at sea for more than 13 hours. The first boat that faced the beautiful Chora of Andros was the “Black Jack – Porsche” with Markos Hatzikyriakakis at the helm. However, the sailing ship that emerged as the winner was “Giorgio – Furuno” with K. Manthos – M. Pittas.

“It was a race that went quite well compared to other times. We chose the tactics to be conservative and put a lot of emphasis on very good sail setting. The crew consists of three students from the school and five people from the company ‘Euroseas’ who may have little experience in sailing but huge in the sea. Everyone helped to bring this result. This is an important, for us, race that has a lot of competition, tough conditions but also very beautiful moments from the hosting of the Andros Nautical Club”, said the former champion of Olympic categories and Olympian Kostas Manthos.

In the Performance category the winner was “Aristofani – Diana Shipping Services SA” skippered by Simos Kambouridis. “The match, from the side of the bun, confirmed his reputation. It made it quite difficult for us but the crew and the boat were well prepared for these conditions. The battles we fought, with the rest of the boats in our category, were quite strong, but we succeeded in the best possible way”, emphasized the experienced sailor Simos Kambouridis.

Results

General ranking

• Giorgio Furuno (K. Manthos, M. Pittas)
• Bluescape (Sypouras Prefecture)
• Adra – Doculand (Z. Grigoriadis)

Performance

• Aristofani – Diana Shipping Services SA (S. Kambouridis)
• Pete (D. Palaeontologist)
• Afroessa Kakitsisails (K. Gretsos)

Sport

• Giorgio – Furuno (K. Manthos / M. Pittas)
• Bluescape (Sypouras Prefecture)
• Andra – Doculand (Z. Grigoriadis)

The competition program includes two more races. One race is scheduled for Saturday (2/9) and the other for Sunday. Both will have a starting point in the sea area of ​​Chora Andros, while for the first time in the history of Greek sailing in a Greek open sea race there will be a live streaming broadcast (www.youtube.com/@hellenicsailingfederation).

The 56^o Andros International Sailing Race is organized by the Nautical Club of Andros and the Nautical Club of Greece. The Gold Sponsor of the competition is Private Banking of the Eurobank Group. Eurobank is supporting the event for the 6th consecutive time, having been inextricably linked with sailing and with the highly successful sponsorships of sportsmen and women who have won the highest honors in the sport at world level. Silver sponsor of the race is Porsche, represented in Greece by Motodynamiki. For the 2nd year, Porsche is supporting the event by supporting the passion, the adrenaline, and the effort for ever greater performances in difficult conditions, while the new Porsche Cayenne will be presented as part of the race’s events. Sponsors are also “Adamantios, Alina & Leonidas Polemi”, “Bureau Veritas”, “Lipra Philanthropies” and “L. Papaphilippou & Co’. Sponsors are “Kourtesis Wine Estate”, “Kir Yianni”, “WINE”, “Nisos”, “Krisilias”, “AnDrop”, “Zarbis”, “Symbeeosis”, “Laskaris” and “Traditional Grocery Andros”. Travel Sponsors: Golden Star Ferries and Fast Ferries. Communication Sponsor is SKAI.