The Blue Ribbon Round Balaton Regatta (Kékszalag) was first organized in 1934 on Lake Balaton. Held once in two years (except in 1944 and 1946 because of World War II) and annualy since 2001, the sailing race has remained more or less the same. It has its start and finish at Balatonfüred and is approximately 170 km long without stopover including turning marks at Balatonkenese at the eastern, and Keszthely at the western end of the lake.

The Blue Ribbon is traditionally sailed in July on a weekend close to full moon which offers some light for navigation during the night. Start is on Friday morning and there is a 48 hour time limit to accomplish the track. The winner is the fastest boat but there are awards for each class.

Since 2001, two different versions of the sailing instructions are valid.

In the odd years the participation is restricted by some rules so as to give preference to traditional yachts. For example, the use of trapeze, racks or wings is prohibited as well as boats with concave lines in the hull design.

In the even years, however, any type of sailing yacht may take part in the competition. Only multihulls were prohibited until recently but this limitation was finally obliterated by the Hungarian Yachting Association. Consequently the 42nd Blue Ribbon, the 2010 race is again an absolutely free race without any restrictions concerning the type of the participating yachts. A free race to decide what team and which boat can be the fastest in sailing around our beautiful Lake Balaton; exactly as our ancestors have dreamed of it nearly eighty years ago.

The Blue Ribbon of Lake Balaton is the oldest and longest existing round lake regatta in Europe and nowadays has the largest competing fleet, with about 600 participants annually.

More information: www.kekszalag.org