Unfavourable conditions foil boats on way home

The Royal Malta Yacht Club has just held the annual Gewiss Marzamemi Regatta with a record entry of 57 boats. However, in contrast to the heavy Grigale experienced on the way up to Sicily, the fleet had to contend with different conditions on their way back.

In fact, out of a fleet of 57 boats, only five managed to sail across to finish the race back to Malta. The rest opted to take a break from their sailing schedule, drop their sails and enjoy their motor sail back to Malta.

Despite a moderate forecast for the race up to Marzamemi, the channel crossing to Sicily did not fail to live up to its reputation, with some competitors having to retire half way due to the rough seas.

The heavier boats were destined to perform well in these conditions with Elusive making the best corrected time to claim overall IRC honours in race one.

Second in IRC was Allegra followed by David Pizzuto's Geisha.

In the second IRC Group, Spirit of the Winds claimed first place, followed by Bordeaux and Mischief. The new IRC Cruiser class was very well attended and looks likely to become a permanent fixture in the club's future events.

Anthony Camilleri, on board Windward, claimed top spot in his new boat's first outing, followed by Diva and Jeannine. In the second IRC Cruiser class, Serena finished first followed by Kaos.

The social aspect of this weekend is also worth mentioning.

An excursion was organised and some 200 club members enjoyed a tour to Buscemi, followed by an Agri Turismo lunch and, finally, a stop in Noto before heading back to Marzamemi.

Conditions on Sunday morning could not have been more perfect for the departure with the sun out and an easterly wind allowing the boats to reach out of Marzamemi towards Capo Passero. However, the fleet soon started to struggle with very light winds.

First in the IRC Racing class was Geisha, followed by Kerisma and Maltese Falcon. Nisida and Strait Dealer were the other finishing boats from the rest of the fleet.

Although all the other boats retired in every other division, Fekruna deserves a worthy mention.

The skipper and crew decided to continue this race till the very end and managed to cross the finish line some 32 minutes after the official time limit which was set at 0200 on Sunday.