61st Aegean Rally: Drops anchor in Syros

In the capital of the Cyclades, the mansion of Syros, where it all started in 1964, this summer (July 20-29) the 61st Aegean Rally will sail. For the eighteenth time in the 61-year history of the water marathon, the Rally will visit Syros and will stay for about a week, and two large local sailing races are planned as well as many cultural events. For them and not only, on Monday night, in the welcoming area of ​​the “CASTA DIVA” restaurant in Kolonaki, the journalists who have been covering the top open sea race in Greece for years, had the opportunity at an introductory dinner to learn about the 61^The Aegean Rally from the organizers and sponsors.

“This year’s Aegean Rally is dedicated to Syros, with which we have had close and special relations since the first day of the event. The goal of our Group is to be able to strengthen the interest that our young people need in order to deal with the sea. I believe that this year’s event will leave an era. We will have a good time both at sea and on land in cooperation with our sponsors JOTUN and ONEX. In addition to the routes from Piraeus to Finikas Syros and from Syros to Sounio, we will have 2 local races, the Jotun Cup and ONEX Cup» emphasized the president of the Panhellenic Open Sea Club, Mr. Ioannis Maragoudakis.

For 9^the consecutive year JOTUN Hellas Ltd will “dress up” the event in its colors as MAJOR SPONSOR. “It is a great honor for us to be a sponsor of such a historic race. We will always be by your side” argued Mr. Gary Nixon, General Manager of JOTUN Hellas Ltd.

In the sails of 61^u Aegean Rally will wave for 2^the year and the flag of ONEX Shipyards which … playing at home is preparing for many surprises both for the crews and for the Syrian sailing friends. “The team working for the Aegean Rally has … set out to prove that the maritime industry, tourism and sports can go together. It is a special pleasure for us to be a sponsor of 61^The Aegean Rally which is not only a sporting event but also a national affair. During the Rally’s stay in Syros, at the shipyard facilities, we will organize a big concert for the whole island with Peggy Zina” revealed Mr. Panos Xenokostas, CEO of ONEX Shipyards. During the evening, Mr. Dimitris Zarogiannis, Shipping Key Account Manager of JOTUN Hellas Ltd., in a symbolic gesture offered the official T-shirt of the event to Mr. Maragoudakis, Xenokosta and Nixon.

The program of 61^u Aegean Rally

In the 9 days that the event will last, the experienced sailors will run a total of 350 nautical miles in particularly demanding races. In detail, this year’s program of the race, which will start on Saturday July 20 from Falirikos Ormos and symbolically in front of the legendary battleship AVEROF, will include: The sailing race with Faliro, Serifos to the left, Phoinikas Syros, a distance of approximately 90 nautical miles. A large local sailing race, starting at Phoinikas of Syros with a total distance of approximately 90 nm, a smaller local sailing race with a total distance of 36 nm, several sports and social events and finally a sailing festival co-organized by the Municipality of Syros – Ermoupoli on Syros Nautical Club as well as ONEX which will also support all local events. The return of the boats will take place on Saturday, July 27 with a route of Finikas, Sifnos on the right, Agios Georgios on the right – and ending in Sounio, a total distance of 95 nm. As has traditionally been done in recent years, the final award ceremony will take place at the Aegean Naval Administration in Piraeus.

The Aegean Rally is organized by the Panhellenic Offshore Sailing Association (POIATH) with the cooperation of the Navy. The major sponsor of the 61st Aegean Rally, for the 9th year in a row, will be the multinational paint company JOTUN, which this year will also be at the side of the organizer POIATH group as well as the crews that will participate in the race. The company ONEX Shipyards and Technologies Group, which manages the shipyards in Ermoupoli and Elefsina, has been added to the group of sponsors of the 61st Aegean Rally, and as a sponsor will have the role of host in Syros. Sponsors are the companies D. KORONAKIS S.A. world leader in shipping ropes and chains, NISOS beer, as well as the G4S-Telematix company that provides the vessel tracking system.