The 49th Kékszalag Erste World Grand Prix, Europe’s largest around-the-lake competition will start from Balatonfüred Marina and Dock at 9am on July 6. The task: to sail around the lake and to get back to Balatonfüred in 48 hours. The first Kékszalag ("blue ribbon") was organized in 1934, and today there’re about 300-350 ships competing every year, with almost 1,400-1,700 sailors on board.
Race:
The distance of the Balatonfüred – Balatonkenese – Tihany – Keszthely – Balatonfüred route is almost 155 kilometers.
The history of Kékszalag:
The fastest ship of the seas used to have a blue ribbon on its mast. When the sport became more popular, they started to organize competitions on the lakes of Europe, and the winner was awarded with this prize on their ship’s mast. Hungária Yacht Club brought this tradition to Lake Balaton. Today, the competition is organized by the Hungarian Sailing Association, and it became an emblematic event.
