Rolex Middle Sea Race’s 70-boat fleet all set to start

According to the organizers, this year’s race saw entries from 16 different countries, with the highest number of applicants coming from Italy, 26, Malta and the UK – nine each.

The race is set to start at 11am from the Grand Harbour in Valletta. The final prize will be given at noon next Saturday at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta.

Yhe biggest boat in the fleet is the 100-footer Esimit Europa 2, from Slovenia. The accomplished German sailor Jochen Schümann, is onboard as skipper, in his first Rolex Middle Sea Race.

 “I am more focused on short distance races, and more used to round the buoys. I think to learn to sail better you learn more in short distance races. But the combination with crew who are experienced in long distance races, e.g. a navigator, works absolutely fine. I would say this makes the perfect team,” Schümann said.

One of the more closely watched rivalries will be between Niklas Zennstrom’s J/V 72, Rán (GBR) and Andres Soriano’s Mark Mills-designed 68 footer, Alegre (GBR). Alegre will be competing in her fourth race, having achieved a line honours win in 2008 and overall race win in 2009.

While this will be the Rán crew’s third time at the Rolex Middle Sea Race, Zennstrom’s team have been ticking off some important race wins including Rolex Fastnet Race (2009, 2011), the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (2011, 2010), and the 2010 Newport Bermuda Race. Rán’s preparation is methodical, and Zennstrom has assembled a formidable crew.

As Rán’s navigator Steve Hayles put it, “This race has come on a bit in its standing. Niklas laid down our focus and he’s put this race in very high regard in terms of where we should spend our time and resources. We’re more focused on this race, as part of a much bigger programme than we have been in the past.”

Hayles and tactician Adrian Stead will both be called on to decipher the best track around the race course, which features an anti-clockwise circumnavigation around Sicily and the neighbouring Aeolian and Egadi island chain as well as further offshore, Pantelleria, and Lampedusa, and through the channel of Malta’s sister islands of Gozo and Comino, before the finish back in Marsamxett Harbour.

Most navigators and tacticians seem to agree that this racecourse is trickier than most, with varying wind systems, tidal currents and significant land formations, such as the two active volcanoes. After the start, the fleet sails fifty miles across to Sicily. Once there they begin to position themselves for one of the most complex parts of the course: the Strait of Messina, the narrow passage between the eastern tip of Sicily and the southern tip of Calabria in the south of mainland Italy. The passage is characterised by strong tidal currents, as it connects the different densities of the Tyrrhenian and the Ionian Seas.

At the smaller end of the size spectrum, but no less competitive is Chris Opielok on the Corby 36, AOC Rockall. Though racing in the Rolex Middle Sea Race for the first time, as “it’s on the list to tick off”, the German owner/skipper has been actively – and successfully – campaigning the boat around the world for the last two years. He and his crew have raced in Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, France and the UK, were they competed in the Rolex Commodores’ Cup in 2010 winning Class 3 and helping the Hong Kong team into second place overall. But a race around Denmark proved his yacht’s offshore capabilities. Opielok explained, “It was really brutal and tough: it was force 8-9, heavy winds. This is a serious offshore boat.”

The Royal Malta Yacht Club has been welcoming the boats this week to their clubhouse in Ta’Xbiex, with its new marina facility, finished this summer. Georges Bonello DuPuis, Commodore of the Royal Malta Yacht Club spearheaded the marina project (and repairs) and is the nerve centre of the race organisers, keeping everyone focused in the lead-up to the race. Bonello DuPuis was clearly excited for today’s start:

“Big names, big boats, small boats…there’s a great mix and so many returns which is the best thing about this race, you have people that keep coming back. You’ve got a maxi, mini maxis, Volvo Ocean racers, family cruisers, and this year, quite a few Open 40s.”

The first starting warning signal will be given today at 10.50am in Valletta. There will be four IRC starts, beginning with the smallest sized yachts and ending with the largest.

George David's Rambler (USA) established the current Course Record of 47 hours, 55 minutes, and 3 seconds in 2007.

For more information on the race visit www.rolexmiddlesearace.com.