The 54th Blue Ribbon Race on Lake Balaton

The field of the 54th Kékszalag (‘Blue Ribbon’) Raiffeisen Grand Prix took off Thursday morning from Balatonfüred. According to the organizers, 516 boats have entered this year's race with more than 2,500 sailors on board.

As the website of the race notes, 28 boat classes have delegated teams to the Blue Ribbon, with 16 catamarans in the fieldd. Each boat has an average crew of five, with the largest number of competitors, 17 aboard the Raffica and 16 on the Principessa.

There are 11 foreign teams entered for the Blue Ribbon, 16 boats with a female helmsperson, two of which have an all-female crew. The race website also announced that 92 youth and eight teenage sailors would be on board.

The Kékszalag is Europe's longest cross-country sailing race, first held in 1934.

After the start in Balatonfüred, the sailors will travel 155 kilometers as the crow flies, passing through Balatonkenese, Siófok and the Strait of Tihany, before turning back at Keszthely towards  Balatonfüred.