Welcome to the Open Europeans 29th June to 15th July 2011

Helsinki , the capital of Finland, has been awarded the European Championships for all olympic classes 2011 - with the exception of the board classes.
The Open Europeans event will take place from 29th June to 15th July. You can find a preliminary schedule here.
The dates have been set in cooperation with the class organizations of the participating classes. There is enough time to do the Kiel Week and then travel to Helsinki in time for the Open Europeans . Also, the Weymouth pre-Olympics can be combined with the Helsinki event and the possibilities for a special transport from Helsinki to the UK are being investigated.

One venue for all classes, ideal racing conditions

The preparations for the Open Europeans 2011 are already well advanced. The venue will be unique for an event of this size as facilities for storage of boats, cars and trailers, for race office, jury rooms and prerace inspection for all classes will be in one area, thus allowing easy communication and efficient use of time. Both outdoor and indoor space will be available and security issues will be given all necessary attention.

You can see a map of the base area here.

The Championship is close to the centre of Helsinki with its wide choice of accomodation, restaurants and other entertainment opportunities.
Racing conditions in Helsinki are ideal – there are no currents and winds will ususally be in the range recommended by the various class organisations. Course areas are within reasonable distance from the base an can be seen on the map here.

Media attention guaranteed

Having so many championships during the same period in the same area will make the Open Europeans an interesting event for media and sailing fans all over the world. Special attention is given to attracting the attention of the media and serving them with the material they need. Also tracking will be used to enhance the possibiities for a public on site and all over the globe to follow the races.

Getting to Helsinki

A number of ferry lines connecting Finland with Sweden, Estonia and Germany are available for your trip to the Open Europeans. Should you have organised your boat transport separately you can conveniently reach Helsinki by air from most major cities in and outside of Europe.
Ferries are very booked in the summer so it is important to make your reservations early.

More information
More information on the Open Europeans, on travel and accomodation and on Finland and Helsinki will be made available on this web site. Please also follow the internet site of your class organization as it would normally be responsible for a number of key issues like allocation of places and - in some cases – entries - for the championship.

For more information on all issues related to the Open Europeans, please mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it The office will be closed in July 2010.

Helsinki Sail Racing Management
Helsinki Sail Racing Management (HSRM) is the organisation in charge of organizing the Open Europeans 2011 event. HSRM combines the forces of all major sail clubs in Helsinki. The staff needed to run this huge event will be recruited from those clubs but also from all other sailing clubs not only in the Helsinki area but also in the other parts of Finland.

Patrick Andersson
21.6.2010