It is with great pleasure that the Ministry of Mercantile Marine is organizing for the 9th consecutive year, in cooperation with Aegean nautical clubs and the Hellenic Yachting Federation/Hellenic Offshore Committee, the international offshore sailing competition Aegean Regatta 2009.
The “Aegean Regatta” is an excellent opportunity to integrate the three constituent elements of the Greek identity: athletics, shipping and tourism.
Athletics have always been, even from the ancient years, an integral part of the Greek people’s every-day life. Our ancestors loved sports passionately - to be more precise, they introduced the idea of athletism - and cultivated the belief that athletism creates a healthy body, not less than a healthy mind. Naturally, Greece as a maritime nation could not but add sea sports in the wider notion of athletism. It is within this context that sailing has offered our country prominent distinctions both at the Olympic Games as well as in international and European competitions.
With respect to shipping, Greece can be proud of a unique achievement: the first position worldwide in an exceedingly competitive international activity. Greece proudly maintains this position - in spite of the fluidity in the international economic environment - based on the long-standing tradition of the Greek seamanship, its roots being traced in the Aegean Archipelago.
Finally, tourism is without any doubt the most prominent competitive advantage of our country. Unique climate and environmental conditions, our history and culture, together with the natural beauty of our country and the famous hospitality of its inhabitants, create an incomparable mosaic, which underlines the uniqueness of Greece as a tourist destination. Thus, today, tourism and shipping are the backbone of our country’s economic and social cohesion.
The Aegean Regatta, already established as an athletic event of international prestige, integrates successfully those three activities constituting maritime Greece. The event has numerous enthusiastic supporters in Greece and worldwide, and is considered among the most important sailing competitions in the Mediterranean, thus highlighting the Aegean’s suitability for wide-ranging maritime events.
The importance, however, of the event is not limited to athletic terms, or to its indisputable promotion of Greece as a tourist destination. Equally noteworthy are its social and cultural dimensions. In each island, in every single port of call, participants enjoy pre-scheduled artistic and cultural events and have an excellent opportunity to experience, along with the residents and visitors, the unparalleled beauty of the Aegean summer landscape. In this sense, it can be claimed that the Aegean Regatta is not only an important expression of the Greek seamanship and a prominent sailing and athletic event. It is above all a celebration of the Aegean.
I would like to cordially congratulate all those who have contributed and worked for the organisation of the Aegean Regatta 2009 and wish all the participants every success and fair winds.
Mr. Anastassis Papaligouras
Minister of Mercantile Marine,
the Aegean & Island Policy
