For the past five years, the Hellenic Offshore Racing Club (HORC) has organized a 600-mile race around the Cyclades, in the Aegean Sea : the Aegean 600 race. It is open to all kinds of offshore racing-capable boats: in 2025, 60 boats signed up and gathered at the Olympic Marine Marina in Lavrio, who was holding the event.
Avel Vaez is a racer-cruiser catamaran, designed for a dual purpose: offshore racing and comfortable cruising. Three professional certified captains where on board for the event.
Olympic Marine provided storage space, allowing us to offload most of the unnecessary equipment from the vessel, such as diving gear, SUPs, kitesurfing equipment, and more.
In early June 2025, Avel Vaez was weighed at 15.4 tons while being lifted for hull cleaning and a fresh antifouling application. An estimated 750 kg of equipment was removed beforehand, bringing the race-ready displacement of Avel Vaez down to approximately 14.5 tons.
On board, we carry two gennakers (150 m² and 200 m²), along with J1, J2, and J3 headsails, and a mainsail with three reefing points. At this time, we do not have a spinnaker.
The MOCRA rating for the ORC 57, equipped with a 315 m² spinnaker, is 1.348. Without the spinnaker, the rating is 1.328.
The race starts on July 6th at 14:00 local time. Avel Vaez crosses the starting line first, followed closely by Allegra and Pico Mole. On the first leg, heading to the buoy located south of Cape Sounio near the Temple of Poseidon, Allegra overtakes Avel Vaez, with Pico Mole in third position. The rest of the fleet trails behind. It’s a spectacular start — the three leading boats charge upwind at 15 knots on flat water, their bows slicing through the sea and wrapped in spray.
The downwind leg toward Milos begins well, powered by the large gennaker. Although the forecast suggests the direct route may not be ideal, we quickly realize that the boats choosing to sail east toward the Cyclades or west into the Saronic Gulf aren’t finding better conditions. We stick to our chosen course. Pico Mole takes the lead.
As we continue south, the wind gradually fades, allowing the first pure racing yachts to overtake us. By the time we reach the northern coast of Milos, the wind has completely died.
The first night is very calm. We run a watch system with three teams rotating every three hours, which provides everyone with a good amount of rest.
Day 2 begins slowly, and it takes us several hours to round Milos. The leg toward Santorini is equally sluggish – with only a light breeze, our large gennaker isn’t enough to keep Avel Vaez moving at a good pace.
We reach the entrance of the Santorini caldera in the late afternoon, greeted by a soft breeze. The scenery is breathtaking: the golden hues of sunset reflect on the cliffs, and the iconic white villages perched atop the island glow in the fading light.
Inside the caldera, the wind dies completely. It takes us several hours to cross, drifting amid still waters. By then, many of the lighter monohulls have caught up and are far more efficient in these windless conditions. We sail within a boat length of both competitors and rocky shores – in the dark of night.
Fortunately, the full moon casts a gentle glow over the water, offering just enough visibility. We notice heavy clouds building over Santorini, though none ever drift directly above us. The wind becomes erratic, shifting directions repeatedly, forcing us to tack several times before finally escaping the caldera.
We finally exit the Santorini caldera and continue our slow downwind sail toward Crete. Without a spinnaker, we have to jibe repeatedly, and our VMG is far from optimal.
As we approach Kassos, we finally encounter the conditions Avel Vaez was built for. The wind picks up to just the right speed and angle, and under the large gennaker, Avel Vaez accelerates to 20–25 knots. Within an hour, we’ve left behind the group of boats that had been with us for the past few hours.
The ride is intense – the boat feels like an overpowered RIB skimming over flat water. At one point, we sail side by side with a large power yacht. A quick check on the AIS shows she’s cruising at 30 knots – just slightly faster than us. We can’t help but imagine her crew looking over, wondering if something’s wrong with their engines as this sailing boat keeps pace.
Later, near the southern tip of Rhodes, the wind drops again, leaving us in another lull – only to rise once more and offer another burst of fast sailing. And just as quickly, it dies down to almost nothing.
In the morning, we round Rhodes and begin our sail toward Kos. It’s another day of light winds. By evening, we round Kos and set course for Mykonos. We enjoy a great upwind stretch alongside three monohulls — in these conditions, we’re holding a similar heading and sailing slightly faster.
As we pass Agathonisi Island, the wind picks up and the sea becomes confused. Once again, Avel Vaez excels in these tougher conditions. We overtake several motor yachts anchored south of Mykonos, flying past them at 20 knots as we head up the channel toward Syros.
Ahead of us, we spot an area of calm on the southern route to Kea, while some breeze appears to be flowing along the north, near Tinos. We opt for this latter path. After a couple of windless hours, the breeze returns, allowing us to continue toward Kea.
The sail to Kea is pleasant, and we reach the southern tip of Makronisos in the early hours. From there, it takes us three long hours to reach Cape Sounio – crawling at barely one knot. There’s no wind at the finish line, and getting to the final buoy feels endless. We watch our pursuers catch up and overtake us as we struggle to tack our way across the line.
But finally – we make it! After 4 days, 17 hours, and 47 minutes, Avel Vaez crosses the finish line as the third multihull, behind Allegra and Pico Mole.
A minute after we finish, the wind suddenly returns – along with the rest of the fleet, rounding Makronisos in a 15-knot breeze. Boats that were hours behind just the day before now finish within minutes.
This perfectly sums up our race: when there’s wind, Avel Vaez is among the fastest boats in the fleet. Without it, we’re among the slowest…
As the rest of the fleet crosses the line, we are officially ranked 5th in corrected time.
However, upon review, we realize that the MOCRA certificate used by the race organizers included a spinnaker — which we didn’t carry. With the correct rating, without a spinnaker, our position improves to 4th place, just a few minutes ahead of the previous ranking.
Later, we learn that the boat listed in 3rd place on corrected time missed a mandatory course mark, passing it on the wrong side. Still, this doesn’t take away from the remarkable performance of that 30-foot catamaran. We unanimously agree not to file a protest.
That said, it’s fair to say that, under corrected conditions, we likely would have finished 3rd in the MOCRA ranking.
This race once again confirms that our ORC57 is a true racer-cruiser catamaran:
▪️As a cruiser, Avel Vaez can comfortably host a family or a group for island-hopping, delivering sailing sensations more reminiscent of a beach catamaran than a 15-ton yacht.
▪️As a racer, with just a bit of wind, Avel Vaez holds her own against the fastest machines out there – all while offering a level of comfort rarely seen on performance multihulls.