Fekruna, the Maltese translation for turtle, a Beneteau Oceanis 411 Celebration skippered by Kevin Dingli won the sixth edition of the BOV Phoenician Experience, the 300km yacht rally between Malta-Lampedusa and El Kantaoui in Tunisia.
The fleet of participants experienced fairly rough seas particularly on the Lampedusa-Tunisia leg, where wind speeds of up to 26 knots prevailed, blowing generally from the NW which made for some fantastic sailing. Unfortunately these conditions proved too hazardous for Pamas and last year's winner Water Lily, the two motor yachts on the Rally which got stuck in Lampedusa and eventually retired.
Dingli , 47, only took up sailing seven years ago and although he has undertaken many offshore voyages, the furthest being to the Greek Ionian Islands, the BOV Phoenician Experience 2007 was his first entry in an offshore 'event'. His other taste of victory was a second overall at last year's Beneteau Cup event.
The crew, apart from skipper Kevin, included Tony Tabone, Anton Schembri, Graham Elliott and Amelia Robertson Brown, who sail regularly, but of course some changes are made depending on people's availability at the time.
Prior to the event there was concern among participants about what they call the "boat people" (illegal immigrants), an uneasiness which actually resulted in a substantial withdrawal of potential entrants. Where any boats encountered during the Rally?
"Whilst I cannot speak for others, our team was not concerned by this at all. We did not in fact come across any such boats during the rally, nor did any other participating yacht. We only encountered encouragingly large numbers of sea turtles and dolphins.
"In my opinion, this concern was never justified. Boat people are not pirates of the high seas, and I have not read or heard of a single incident wherein a yacht has been boarded or otherwise accosted by these people.
"Certainly we had no qualms at all in making the return voyage from Tunisia to Malta (via Linosa) alone and unaccompanied, both legs involving night sailing."
This was also Kevin's first visit to El Kantaoui, which he describes as a place with a unique setting.
"Tunisia is a beautiful country, and the Tunisians are most friendly people who evidently have a very high regard for Malta and the Maltese," Dingli said.
"I must say that the hospitality extended to us from first contact with the Capitanerie over VHF and throughout our sojourn was exemplary and outstanding. In terms of food, Tunisia also has its own local cuisine (such as brick, and couscous) which must be tried as part of the enriching experience.
"We found the cuisine to be exquisite, and the gala dinner spread out for us by the Tunisian Authorities in El Kantaoui was certainly no exception," the Rally's winner remarked.
Talking of welcome and hospitality Rally organisers and all participants were impressed by the Tunisia authorities' reception. In fact, the rally boats were met outside El Kantaoui Marina where they were given instructions on approach and locality of berths.
Whilst inside the marina another boat led the way to every participant's berth with two men assisting yachts in berthing. Once ashore a welcome drink greeted crew members.
"We thoroughly enjoyed our participation, and that has nothing at all to do with our winning the event," Dingli added.
"Apart from bargaining, or shall I say haggling in the medina of Sousse, we found time to visit the world heritage Roman coliseum at El Jem, which is delightfully preserved. And in sailing on to Jasmine Hammamet, we made a point to tour all the noteworthy archaeological sites peppering Carthage.
"That really gave added flavour to our Phoenician experience, and in this regard we had the privilege of benefiting from Amelia's expert knowledge of the subject, quite apart from her sailing skills.
"Besides, it was really very good for us to brush up again on our French! We certainly hope to be on the starting line again at the next edition of this most commendable event," Dingli concluded.
40th anniversary
This year's edition of the BOV Phoenician Experience was part of a programme of activities commemorating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Tunisia and Malta.
Special guests at the Gala Dinner Presentation night, held at Couscus Restaurant in El Kantaoui Marina, were the Malta Ambassador to Tunisia Tanya Vella, Raouf Jomni, Director General of the Tunisian National Tourist Office, Foued Daghfous, Director General of Societe D'Etudes et de Developement de Sousse Nord and Roland Darmanin Kissaun, chairman of the organising committee.
The Phoenician Experience was supported by the Bank of Valletta, title sponsors, the Tunisian National Tourist Office (ONTT) and the Tunisian airline SEVENAIR.
Full results
Best-kept log book: 1. Fekruna (Kevin Dingli); 2. Vagabond (Van Den Abeele-Veys): 3. Cahoots (Anthony Demajo).
Most accurate log book: 1. Wishbone (Herman Baldacchino); 2. Place Jannic 5 (Malcolm David Beetham); 3. Linga Linga (Alan England).