Irish Sailors Prepare for Middle Sea Race

19th October 2018

Afloat.ie Team

The 50th Middle Sea Race starts tomorrow Credit: Kurt Arrigo

The 2018 Rolex Middle Sea Race fleet lies ready to create history as the crews - including Irish sailors - make final preparations for the 606-nm Mediterranean offshore classic. Some 131 yachts have been registered to take on the Royal Malta Yacht Club’s flagship event in the race’s 50th anniversary year. If all cross the start line, the previous record of 122 starters will be comfortably beaten.

29 countries are represented by the participating yachts and many more nations among the polyglot crews. At the Owners’ Reception held at the stunning Verdala Palace, near Mdina, on Wednesday evening Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, President of the Maltese Republic, hailed the event as not just a race, but a community that brings together a myriad of nationalities in spirit of friendly competition.

Godwin Zammit, Commodore of the Royal Malta Yacht Club, expressed the excitement and satisfaction of the club to be hosting such a large and diverse fleet:
“Looking back 50 years to the eight boats that set off on the original adventure, it is hard to believe how far we have come. We are thrilled that our race remains such a popular challenge for today’s offshore sailor. Achieving a record fleet in our anniversary year is testament to many things: the unique character of the course, the attraction and challenge of offshore sailing, and, the tireless efforts of the volunteer members of our club that come together each year to bring this event to fruition.”

The 39th Rolex Middle Sea Race starts, tomorrow, Saturday 20 October from Grand Harbour Valletta with the first start at 11:00 CET.

The Rolex Middle Sea Race Trophy will be decided under the IRC Rating rule.

IRC Class 1 – 8 Boats; 7 Countries
Class 1 is a refined group of eight yachts led by George David’s Juan K designed, canting-keeled 88-ft Rambler. Line Honours winner at the past three races, the American maxi is going for a record fourth successive win. For David and his all-star crew, it would actually be a fifth such title following the team’s debut success in 2007 when, with a previous Rambler, they secured the treble of Course Record (47h 55m 03s), Line Honours and Overall Win.

Nikata will create a record of her own, whatever her result, as the largest yacht ever to start the Rolex Middle Sea Race. Weighing in at 115-feet/34.98m, she is the first Supermaxi to take advantage of the removal of the upper length limit in 2017.

Dieter Schön’s German entry Momo arrives fresh from victory at the 2017 Rolex Maxi 72 Worlds and Rolex Giraglia offshore race will be hoping to deliver her proven prowess in this testing environment. She has form having finished third overall on her Rolex Middle Sea Race debut in 2015. The crew has been strengthened by the addition of Italian sailing legend Francesco de Angelis and Jules Salter, as navigator.

Wild Joe from Hungary makes a welcome return. Marton Jozsa’s Reichel Pugh canting-keeled 60-footer was absent last year undergoing the surgery that has introduced DSS foils which, according to Jozsa, have improved performance markedly. Stu Bannatyne, a four-time winner of the Whitbread/Volvo round the world races, will give the crew added edge.

Maximilian Klink’s Caro, the Botin 65, has been regular competitor since her launch in 2013 and offers her crew a fast, comfortable ride in a yacht designed for short-handed racing. Her best result to date is fifth overall in 2016.

IRC Class 2 – 11 Boats; 8 Countries
Arguably the class containing some of the most potent weapons in the battle for overall honours. Eric de Turckheim’s Teasing Machine is a powerful beast. The Nivelt-Muratet design won the 2017 RORC Transatlantic Race and her Rolex Middle Sea Race line up once again features Laurent Pages, member of the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race winning Groupama crew, as tactician. Third place last year is proof of her competitiveness.

A trio of 52-footers will also carry confidence into the race. Yachts of that size have won three of the past ten races. Optimum 3 is the oldest of the group, but enters the contest having won the race in 2004. Co-owners Periklis Livas and Nick Lazos, are back for the first time in four years with a young, determined crew. Vadim Yakimenko’s Russian entry Freccia Rossa is a former winner of the Rolex Giraglia offshore race. And, although last year’s tough conditions led to her early retirement, the crew is confident and well-organized. Gérard Logel’s IRC52 Arobas completes the triumvirate.

Cookson 50s have a strong record in the Rolex Middle Sea Race, with an overall win and several podium places in recent editions. Pietro Moschini’s Endlessgame will be looking to continue the run, calling on the talent of former Olympian and 49er World Champion Gabriele Bruni in the tactician’s role.

Stefan Jentzsch’s much-travelled Carkeek 47 Black Pearl secured early bragging rights with a win in the warm up coastal race on Tuesday. The South African pairing of Mark Sadler (tactician, and Rolex Middle Sea Race winner in 2012 with Hi Fidelity) and Marc Lagesse (navigator) forms a solid backbone of experience.

IRC Class 3 – 18 Boats; 13 Countries
Bringing together a broad spread of designs and ages, Class 3 sees the first of the Maltese home-heroes. Comanche Raider III is co-skippered by Ramon Sant Hill and Jonas Diamantino, who was one the few finishers in the storm-ridden 2007 race. Polish entry Fujimo represents a blast from the past, the Reichel Pugh 50-footer came to fame in the IOR era, and while unlikely to threaten the overall standings adds definite colour.

Gert Jan Poortman is a four-time Volvo Ocean Race participant and leads a young Dutch team on the Van Uden. Walross 4 is another well-travelled boat having competed in the Rolex Sydney Hobart and Rolex Fastnet Race in recent years. The Russian fleet is well-represented with Magic Twelve, Frogfoot and Belka 2.

IRC Class 4 – 24 Boats; 12 Countries
IRC 4 includes three Maltese entries. Last year, Timmy Camilleri’s & Josef Schultheis’ Xp-ACT was second in class and fifth overall. Christoph, Aaron & Maya Podesta's Elusive 2 will be racing for the ninth time, having come second in class last year, Elusive 2 has a new mast and a refit for this race. Sean Borg's Xpresso completes the trio of Maltese boats with Ben Howett as navigator. French interest in the class comes from Philippe Frantz Albator and Maxime de Mareuil's Orange mecaniX². From Antigua, Bernie Evan Wong will skipper Romanian yacht Africana and Gijs van Liebergen's Swan 65 Kings Legend is one of the most historic entries.

IRC Class 5 – 34 Boats; 14 Countries
Nicolas Ibañez Scott's Chilean Anita was third in class last year. Three Maltese entries include Jonathan Gambin’s Ton Ton Malta Charters, and two teams racing Double-Handed: Jamie Sammut's 2016 class winner Unica and Sean Arrigo's Otra Vez. British interest includes: Nick Cherry’s Redshift Reloaded, Scarlet Oyster skippered by Ross Applebey, and the Army Sailing Association's British Soldier led by Paul Macro. 2015 Rolex Fastnet victor, Géry Trentesaux heads a strong crew, including 2013 Rolex Fastnet winner Alexis Loisin, on Courrier Recommandé, and must be one of the race favourites if the conditions favour this class.

IRC Class 6 – 18 Boats; 9 Countries
The class reserved for the smallest boats includes last year's overall winner Igor Rytov's Bogatyr from Russia, this year racing Double-Handed. Johnathan Camilleri Bowman's Maltese Falcon II and the Young Sailors Foundation, skippered by Karl Miggiani, racing Jarhead, fly the flag for Malta. Richard Palmer's Jangada is another racing Double-Handed and vying for the overall win for the RORC Season's Points Championship. Janez Gorec's Slovenian Sun Fast 3200 looks to be the smallest yacht in this year's race.

Multihull Class
Four hi-tech multihulls form a spectacular curtain raiser at the start. Giovanni Soldini's Maserati, and Peter Cunningham's PowerPlay, are two of the world's fastest ocean-going multihulls. Maserati set the multihull race record in 2016 (49 hours 25 minutes and 01 seconds). PowerPlay is a new team and will be competing in the race for the first time. A high-speed duel for Line Honours is expected between the two evenly matched crews. Robert Szustkowski Polish R-Six, and Adrian Keller Swiss flagged Allegra, both high performance catamarans make up the Multihull Division racing under MOCRA time correction.

Published in Middle Sea Race

Middle Sea Yacht Race Live Tracker 2023

Track the progress of the 2023 Rolex Middle Sea Race fleet on the live tracker above and see all Afloat's Middle Sea Race coverage in one handy link here

Published in Middle Sea Race

About The Author

Afloat.ie Team

Email The Author

Afloat.ie is Ireland's dedicated marine journalism team.

Have you got a story for our reporters? Email us here.

We've got a favour to ask

More people are reading Afloat.ie than ever thanks to the power of the internet but we're in stormy seas because advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news sites, we haven't put up a paywall because we want to keep our marine journalism open.

Afloat.ie is Ireland's only full-time marine journalism team and it takes time, money and hard work to produce our content.

So you can see why we need to ask for your help.

If everyone chipped in, we can enhance our coverage and our future would be more secure. You can help us through a small donation. Thank you.

About The Middle Sea Race

The Rolex Middle Sea Race is a highly rated offshore classic, often mentioned in the same breath as the Rolex Fastnet, The Rolex Sydney–Hobart and Newport-Bermuda as a 'must do' race. The Royal Malta Yacht Club and the Royal Ocean Racing Club co-founded the race in 1968 and 2007 was the 28th Edition. Save for a break between 1984 and 1995 the event has been run annually attracting 25–30 yachts. In recent years, the number of entries has rissen sharply to 68 boats thanks to a new Organising Committee who managed to bring Rolex on board as title sponsor for the Middle Sea Race.

The race is a true challenge to skippers and crews who have to be at their very best to cope with the often changeable and demanding conditions. Equally, the race is blessed with unsurpassed scenery with its course, taking competitors close to a number of islands, which form marks of the course. Ted Turner described the MSR as "the most beautiful race course in the world".

Apart from Turner, famous competitors have included Eric Tabarly, Cino Ricci, Herbert von Karajan, Jim Dolan, Sir Chay Blyth and Sir Francis Chichester (fresh from his round the world adventure). High profile boats from the world's top designers take part, most in pursuit of line honours and the record – competing yachts include the extreme Open 60s, Riviera di Rimini and Shining; the maxis, Mistress Quickly, Zephyrus IV and Sagamore; and the pocket rockets such as the 41-foot J-125 Strait Dealer and the DK46, Fidessa Fastwave.

In 2006, Mike Sanderson and Seb Josse on board ABN Amro, winner of the Volvo Ocean Race, the super Maxis; Alfa Romeo and Maximus and the 2006 Rolex Middle Sea Race overall winner, Hasso Platner on board his MaxZ86, Morning Glory.

George David on board Rambler (ex-Alfa Romeo) managed a new course record in 2007 and in 2008, Thierry Bouchard on Spirit of Ad Hoc won the Rolex Middle Sea Race on board a Beneteau 40.7

The largest number of entries was 78 established in 2008.

Middle Sea Race History

IN THE BEGINNING

The Middle Sea Race was conceived as the result of sporting rivalry between great friends, Paul and John Ripard and an Englishman residing in Malta called Jimmy White, all members of the Royal Malta Yacht Club. In the early fifties, it was mainly British servicemen stationed in Malta who competitively raced. Even the boats had a military connection, since they were old German training boats captured by the British during the war. At the time, the RMYC only had a few Maltese members, amongst who were Paul and John Ripard.

So it was in the early sixties that Paul and Jimmy, together with a mutual friend, Alan Green (later to become the Race Director of the Royal Ocean Racing Club), set out to map a course designed to offer an exciting race in different conditions to those prevailing in Maltese coastal waters. They also decided the course would be slightly longer than the RORC's longest race, the Fastnet. The resulting course is the same as used today.

Ted Turner, CEO of Turner Communications (CNN) has written that the Middle Sea Race "must be the most beautiful race course in the world. What other event has an active volcano as a mark of the course?"

In all of its editions since it was first run in 1968 – won by Paul Ripard's brother John, the Rolex Middle Sea Race has attracted many prestigious names in yachting. Some of these have gone on to greater things in life and have actually left their imprint on the world at large. Amongst these one finds the late Raul Gardini who won line honours in 1979 on Rumegal, and who spearheaded the 1992 Italian Challenge for the America's Cup with Moro di Venezia.

Another former line honours winner (1971) who has passed away since was Frenchman Eric Tabarly winner of round the world and transatlantic races on Penduik. Before his death, he was in Malta again for the novel Around Europe Open UAP Race involving monohulls, catamarans and trimarans. The guest list for the Middle Sea Race has included VIP's of the likes of Sir Francis Chichester, who in 1966 was the first man to sail around the world single-handedly, making only one stop.

The list of top yachting names includes many Italians. It is, after all a premier race around their largest island. These include Navy Admiral Tino Straulino, Olympic gold medallist in the star class and Cino Ricci, well known yachting TV commentator. And it is also an Italian who in 1999 finally beat the course record set by Mistress Quickly in 1978. Top racing skipper Andrea Scarabelli beat it so resoundingly, he knocked off over six hours from the time that had stood unbeaten for 20 years.

World famous round the world race winners with a Middle Sea Race connection include yachting journalist Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and Les Williams, both from the UK.

The Maxi Class has long had a long and loving relationship with the Middle Sea Race. Right from the early days personalities such as Germany's Herbert Von Karajan, famous orchestra conductor and artistic director of the Berliner Philarmoniker, competing with his maxi Helisara IV. Later came Marvin Greene Jr, CEO of Reeves Communications Corporation and owner of the well known Nirvana (line honours in 1982) and Jim Dolan, CEO of Cablevision, whose Sagamore was back in 1999 to try and emulate the line honours she won in 1997.

THE COURSE RECORD

The course record was held by the San Francisco based, Robert McNeil on board his Maxi Turbo Sled Zephyrus IV when in 2000, he smashed the Course record which now stands at 64 hrs 49 mins 57 secs. Zephyrus IV is a Rechiel-Pugh design. In recent years, various maxis such as Alfa Romeo, Nokia, Maximus and Morning Glory have all tried to break this course record, but the wind Gods have never played along. Even the VOR winner, ABN AMro tried, but all failed in 2006.

However, George David came along on board Rambler in 2007 and demolished the course record established by Zephyrus IV in 2000. This now stands at 1 day, 23 hours, 55 minutes and 3 seconds.

At A Glance - Middle Sea Race 2024

First held: 1968

Organising Authority: Royal Malta Yacht Club

Start

The 45th Rolex Middle Sea Race will start on Saturday, 19 October 2024.

Grand Harbour, Valletta: seven separate starts, at 10-minute intervals, from 11:00 CEST Saturday, 21 October 2024

Start Line: between the Saluting Battery, Upper Barrakka Gardens (Valletta) and Fort St Angelo (Birgu)

Various vantage points all around the Grand Harbour, high up on the bastions or at water level. Harbour access for spectator boats is restricted during the period of the start.

Course

Set in the heart of the Mediterranean and is considered one of the most beautiful in the world. It starts and finishes in Malta, passes two active volcanoes and takes in the deep azure waters surrounding Sicily, and the Aeolian and Egadi Islands, as well as lonelier outposts of Pantelleria and Lampedusa, both closer to the African continent than Europe.

Length: 606 nautical miles (1,122km)

Outright Race Record: 33h 29m 28s, Argo, United States, Jason Carroll

Monohull Race Record: 40h 17m 50s, Comanche, Cayman Is, Mitch Booth