The Volvo Baltic Race coastal race, scheduled to be held this morning, has been postponed due to bad weather. The race has been rescheduled for Wednesday 30 June in Sandhamn, Sweden.

Local weather experts were forecasting 30-knot winds with gusts to 36 knots today in Kiel. Although the whole fleet was ready to race, the potential for damage was high and the race committee made the decision to postpone the race.

The next two races of the series are 100 nautical mile (nm) short offshore race to Warnemunde in Germany starting tomorrow, Saturday 26 June, followed on Sunday by a 415 nm offshore race to Sandhamn in Sweden.

The marathon schedule of racing in this series is a test in itself and the decision to postpone was welcomed by everyone. Not only has this decision taken the pressure off the teams who needed to repair gear and sails, it will also allow the crews to be more rested and therefore more prepared for the next stage of the event.

Positions after 3 legs

1 Sony Ericsson (Thomas Blixt, Swe) 11.5 points

2 Team Elanders (Matthew Humphries, UK) 11.0 points

3 JMS Next Generation (Stefan Eneman, Swe/Kjell-Inge Heiberg, Nor) 6.5 points

4 Avant (M Lundh, Swe/W Verbraak, Ned) 5.5 points

5 AV Teknik (Marko Murtic, Cro) 3.0 points