Island Offshore Race to the Arctic - A spectacular doublehanded challenge along the Norwegian coast
by Andreas Tinglum 26 Nov 2025 11:26 UTC
26 June - 5 July 2026
Lofoten, Norway © Magne Klann
Entries are pouring in for the first edition of "Island Offshore Race to the Arctic". The spectacular race from Lindesnes on Norway's southern tip, to Svolvær in Lofoten, will start on June 26th, and end in Svolvær on July 5th.
The initiative comes from Shorthanded Sailing Norway, who have discussed different formats for at race along the coast. After a poll among sailors in Scandinavia, they decided on a format of a competitive race over 4 legs. The aim is to combine tough competition with the unique experience of sailing into the midnight sun.
Former CEO, and two times skipper, in The Ocean Race, Knut Frostad, is intrigued by the initiative: "This must be the most exciting and challenging race ever in Northern Europe. The racers are of course in for a truly unique experience of nature, as they sail the Norwegian coast from south and into the midnight sun."
Limited spots available
Due to capacity constraints in the harbors along the coast, the number of boats is limited to 60. Almost half of the spots are already booked, after the race started accepting entries on November 12th. The entries are sold on a first come, first serve principle, with priority given to the Race Division.
Espen Guttormsen, former professional offshore sailor, is Head of the Race Committee: "We have seen huge interest from the international sailing society for the event. I will say that sailors from all over the northern part of the Atlantic have been waiting for the opportunity to compete along this spectacular and challenging coast. We already have a highly competitive fleet on the entry list and look forward to welcoming 60 boats to the start on June 26th."
Four legs, covering 775 nm
The race consists of four legs over nine days, allowing the participants a short rest, repairs to equipment and some onshore social activities between the legs. It also allows the race committee to ensure safe and fair sailing conditions, as the Norwegian coast may offer challenging weather. The race division will be for doublehanded entries only while the participants in the cruising division are allowed a crew of four.
Race Officer will be Thomas Nilsson, he explains the race format: "We have divided the race into four legs of approximately 200nm each, and calculated stop-overs allowing 12 hours of rest for most crews between the legs. Even in summer the Norwegian coast may offer us challenging conditions with combination of currents and waves, and the race will cross high caution ocean areas on all four legs. The safety of the boats is the responsibility of the skippers, but of course Race Committee is aiming for conditions that are manageable and fair."
Solid partners
The Island Offshore Race to the Arctic has attracted interest from a variety of commercial and cooperative partners. Island O.shore is a provider of advanced offshore service vessels to both oil & gas and offshore wind industries and identifies truly with the race purpose.
Håvard Ulstein, Business Development Manager of Island Offshore: "The North Sea and Norwegian Sea is the home turf of Island Offshore. When we have the opportunity to invite the best shorthanded sailors to visit our coast, we are very happy to make this race happen. I look forward to welcoming the sailors to Norway."
Other partners are Delmar, Wergeland Group, Henri Lloyd, Raymarine, Seilmaker Iversen, Thon Hotel Lofoten, and the Norwegian Sea Rescue Society.
Requirements and support
The race is open for monohull boats with APH between 0.99 and 1.25, and will not allow sports boats, foiling boats or similar. The organizers expect that many participants will use the opportunity to spend some time in Northern Norway after the race and will offer some support on the logistics. They aim to support on logistics of holiday equipment from start to the finish and will provide sailors with a list of marinas to contact if they wish to leave the boat along the coast over the winter.
Sigmund Hertzberg, chairman of Shorthanded Sailing Norway, and initiator of the Island Offshore Race to the Arctic: "Sailing into the midnight sun is a dream for many of us. We want to give a truly competitive race experience, and the opportunity to experience the fantastic nature of the Norwegian coast. Our aim is to organize transport of holiday equipment up to Svolvær at self-cost. We are also making a list of marinas along the coast where they have capacity for boats in water or on shore during the winter. We want the threshold for participation to be as low as possible."