And they’re off...

The canons at Upper Barrakka were ablaze yesterday, signalling each of the five starts for the 31st Rolex Middle Sea Race.

An impressive fleet of 76 yachts – just two shy of the 2008 record – was off from the start line between the Saluting Battery mast and a Rolex mark off Fort St Angelo.

The southeasterly breeze enabled the well-positioned yachts to lay the harbour entrance.

Those not as fortunate were left to tack out of the port, which was challenging in the light eight-knot breeze, with the fortifications that surround the Valletta harbour deflecting the wind and adding to the tactical challenge.

The lone multihull, SIG45, was off first at the stroke of 11 a.m. followed in ten-minute intervals with Classes Four through One, smallest to biggest boats. With 20 boats in each of the middle starts, there was the inevitable shouting and close manoeuvres and despite that only three boats were over early and had to restart.

The smallest boat in the fleet is the 9.9 metre, BOV Plain Sailing (MLT), one of three racing in the Double-Handed division.

Owner Anthony Camilleri is racing in his 10th race and his crew Gilbert Azzopardi in his first.

The Maltese skipper won the Double Handed division in 2008 on board Bavaria Flyer which had the ‘luxury’ of electric winches and furling system.

At 11.50 a.m. the big boats were the last to leave with the Baltic 77 Black Pearl (GBR) on the line at the gun, Esimit Europa 2 (SLO) and ICAP Leopard (GBR) were to leeward and Alegre (GBR) closest to the Valletta shoreline.

ICAP Leopard’s navigator Hugh Agnew discussed the race before the start yesterday.

“We’re going to have a challenge on our hands, because it’s going to be very much a race of two halves... very light and difficult from here up to and through Messina and then it’s going to get even lighter and more difficult across the top of Sicily around Stromboli,” he said.

“There’s just a vacuum up there as far as we can see with lots of rain. So the whole game is who can get out west in time to get into the new weather.”

ICAP Leopard was the line honours winner in 2009. This year they are up against the likes of Esimit Europa 2, which they’ve raced against in her former life as Alfa Romeo.

Agnew said, “We know from racing against Alfa Romeo that she’s quicker than us in the light. So it’s a question of who can hang on to whom and then what happens in the second half of the drag race.

“It’s one of those strange races. It could either be a biggish boat race; I mean obviously you’d have to look at Alegre at being a favourite, if it ends up being a big boat race.

“The second scenario is that because the small boats take longer, they’ll spend much more of their race in the windy conditions, so it could well be a small boat race.”

Sounds like it’s still anyone’s game. As Agnew said, “There’s all to play for.”

Agnew’s observation of Alegre (GBR) is not without reason as the well-sailed mini maxi was the MSR overall winner last year.

Owner/skipper Andres Soriano and his crew are back to defend.

Soriano said: “Most of these offshore races are point to point; this is point to point but going around a few things and the scenery is spectacular, the islands are great.

“You get a bit of everything, which is what I guess most people say about the race, but it’s absolutely true. And Malta itself is an extremely interesting place, so it all sort of works together.”

The southeast tip of Sicily, approximately 50 miles from Valletta, is the first key point of the race. Initially, a sea breeze can develop, enticing the yachts to get closer and closer to the coast of Sicily.

However, further up the coast, the weather in this area is heavily influenced by Mount Etna, which casts a wind shadow offshore.

In this sense, the sea breeze can act as a honey-trap; enticing the boats in but then shutting down as the wind shadow takes over, leaving boats caught in the trap.

At 5 p.m. yesterday, sailing in ten knots of wind from the southeast, Esimit Europa 2 was a mile ahead of ICAP Leopard, both boats doing just over seven knots.

Six miles behind was Alegre, leading E1 and Pace. The race fleet was fairly compact, about 20 miles back.

George David’s Rambler (US) established the current course record of 47 hours, 55 minutes, and 3 seconds in 2007.

To break this record, a Class 1 leader would have to finish tomorrow before 11.35 a.m.