The sixth and penultimate leg of the race takes the fleet on a three day 800-nautical mile (921-mile/1,482-kilometre) sprint from Aarhus to The Hague in the Netherlands – by way of a fly-by visit to the German city Kiel.Sailing.City. Much of the early part of the leg takes place in coastal waters, where making the most of the thermal breezes caused by land heating and cooling – as well as dealing effectively with coastal currents – could be key to success.

Depending on the weather conditions, the race organiser has the option to choose between two potential routes on the opening section south to Kiel.Sailing.City. Most direct is under the 11-mile/18-kilometre span of the Great Belt Bridge (Storebæltsforbindelsen in Danish) which connects the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen. Meanwhile, an alternative choice could be to pass beneath the Øresund Bridge that connects Denmark to Sweden.

After rounding a turning mark at Kiel.Sailing.City, the fleet heads north again to pass Aarhus on the way back out into the North Sea at the Skagen headland – Denmark’s most northerly point. Given the vagaries of the summer weather in this part of the world, the sailors might have to deal with anything from howling gales to fickle zephyrs on their southerly route down the North Sea.

Depending on the weather, land effects as well as coastal currents and tides could play a big part. The predominantly shallow North Sea results in choppy seas even in relatively benign conditions and in a gale the sea state can be bad enough to break boats.

As an extra challenge for the frazzled navigators and sleep deprived crews the final approach to The Hague will require their full attention to avoid an encounter with any of the area’s myriad oil rigs and shifting sandbanks.