Primadonna in unbeatable mood

John Ripard Jnr skippered Strait Dealer right from the spinnaker start to lead the pack of an eight-boat Gattopardo Offshore Race fleet up to the very end of a shortened course to the island of Linosa.

Originally, this race, held recently, had to round the islands of Lampedusa and Linosa before heading home again. However, a light wind forecast was the reason behind the changes. Somehow the race, sponsored by the Malta Maritime Authority, ended up being anything but a slow race averaging 5k throughout the whole race.

The downwind spectacular run was not enough for fast Strait Dealer. Heavily handicapped, this boat could not open up the required gap from the rest as seasoned skipper Alfie Manduca kept Allegra within striking distance.

Arguably, one of the pre-eminent skippers of the fleet, Georges Bonello DuPuis, together with his smart crew, pushed the two leaders to a breathless run of wits on his Primadonna. He rounded Linosa in almost light winds to keep up in close attendance for a corrected showdown win, with a favourable handicap rating of 1.083.

Probably, this is one of the best years for skipper Martin Scicluna.

He is now a constant headache to much more experienced crews with his fast growing leadership aboard Maltese Falcon 2.

Scicluna never lets go his witty sailing instincts and, with his response to sudden wind shifts, he managed to beat Aziza in the last few metres, thereby clocking in fourth after a 34-hour plus struggle. He was rewarded with a second position on corrected time behind Primadonna.

Skipper Sandro Musù also had his good moments, pushing Aziza to the maximum for a satisfying result of third place.

Jost Merten and his boys fared well on the day considering that light winds don't favour much his big boat Escape as hectic weather played havoc with Arthur Podesta on board Elusive. His crew included his daughter Maya and Jasmin Degiorgio.

It was such a relief though to scrutinise positively newcomer Tui, the cruiser skippered by Jonathan Gambin and his brother Timothy.

With practically no experience at all, they finished the race only two hours behind line honours winner Strait Dealer, fifth in the overall official corrected time.

Strangely, the race never attracted many competing boats even though the main objective was to offer an ideal opportunity to seasoned skippers to try out new sailors interested in the Middle Sea Race later on in October.

With better participation, this could even turn out to be a race for excellence with invaluable hands-on experience to keep the blade sharp for ambitious racing crews.

Double Handed Round Malta race

A Double Handed Round Malta yacht race will be held on Saturday, starting from the Sliema Strand at 10 a.m.

This event is being organised by the Royal Malta Yacht Club in collaboration with the Sliema Philharmonic Society as part of the activities commemorating the 125th anniversary of the statue of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Sliema.

The winners of the race will receive trophies from President Emeritus Censu Tabone during a presentation ceremony, to be held on Sunday at 10 a.m. in the Cultural Performance Hall at Palazzo Sliema, residence of the Sliema Philharmonic Society.