True to its established, for three years now, appointment with the world of sailing, the Hellenic Match Racing Tour is ready to set sail again this year for new «adventures» in the waters of the Aegean.
The largest and most well organized sailing event, which in recent years has its own place in the hearts of the protagonists of the sport and all those who love sailing, will take place this year for the 3rd consecutive year in three separate destinations around Greece.
After the very successful course of the two previous years, the Hellenic Match Racing Tour is ready to give in 2016, intense excitement and rich action to sailing enthusiasts. The best Greek athletes, with many distinctions at international level, are expected to be present at the event, which includes a series of Match Race events with Platu 25 / Beneteau 25 type boats. The two-time champion of the event Panagiotis Mantis and the «Nespesso VMG Team», Jason Spanomanolis with «Ursa Minor», Stratis Andreadis with «Salty Bag Dark n Stormy», Thodoris Tsoulfas with «Tsoulfas Sailing Team», Vangelis Chimonas with «Rebuild Construction», Yurek Strzemieski with «Jolly», the team of the Hellenic Police with Alexandros Tagaropoulos, and the team of the Thessaloniki Yacht Club with skipper Maria Tsaousidou, are the eight teams that will be present this year in even more and more exciting sea «duels». All of them, having the experience of their previous participation in the event as a legacy, will do their best to achieve some distinction, since there are no more excuses!
In the purely competitive part, the multi-winning team of Nespresso VMG, captained by Panagiotis Mantis, with the help and support of one of the largest coffee companies in the world, Nespresso, will try to maintain for the 3rd consecutive year its leadership in the institution, setting a very high bar of competition with the rest of the teams that will have to exaggerate themselves to succeed in dethroning it. The participation of Panagiotis Mantis in the Olympic Games of Rio de Janeiro and his long and hard preparation, were not sufficient reasons to keep him away from the Hellenic Match Racing Tour, which proves the dynamics of the event.
Many teams will attempt to threaten the supremacy of the «Nespresso VMG Team» this year. One of them is the «Rebuild Construction» of Vangelis Chimonas, an athlete with a rich palmaré, distinctions at international level and three participations in the Olympic Games. Last year's first participation of the team in the HMRT was more of a recognition event, since the athletes that made up the team had not competed with the same composition, which did not allow them to go as high as they would have liked. This year, having last year's valuable experience and more time at their disposal to train and «bond» as a team, they will want to make their own counterattack, seeking a place on the podium of the winners of HMRT 2016.
The team «Salty Bag Dark n Stormy» of Stratis Andreadis will be close by, and this year will also have «Salty Bag», the company that first introduced the concept of upcycling in Greece, as a supporter and supporter. Last year, the experienced skier, with numerous participations in international Match Race events, and his team came very close to the «source» but failed to drink water, something that in no way seems willing to happen to them this year, setting - already from the beginning - the bar of expectations very high.
The first appointment for 2016 has been set for 13-15 May at the Vouliagmeni Yacht Club's facilities. After the successful hosting of last year's third race of the series, the people of NOB, open their arms to the event this year, hosting the first race of the Hellenic Match Racing Tour 2016 in Lemos. The baton will be passed on May 27-29, to the beautiful island of Paros and the bay of Parikia, where the stage will be set for the second “naval battle” of the year. The Municipality of Paros and the Nautical Club of the island have supported the event from its birth until today, creating ideal conditions for the athletes and fans of sailing. The curtain will fall, as every year, on the HMRT in Mikrolimano, with the final taking place on the weekend of October 1 and 2.
