The final leg from the 2015 Royal Malta Yacht Club (RMYC) Match Racing Winter Series was held recently.
The series consisted of six days of round-robin competitions between four different teams on each day. Each of the six teams registered in the series raced each other an average of ten times over the past winter.
Teams were classified according to the percentage number of wins. The series saw bottom-placed teams race against their closest rivals to stay in contention and challenge the higher-placed teams.
The first match between fifth- and sixth-placed teams was won by Patrick Vassallo and his team.
Vassallo’s crew then knocked out Matthew Fleri Soler to take fourth place. But in the third match, Kurt Camilleri Burlo’s team earned the right to challenge David Anastasi in a best-of-five contest by knocking out Vassallo.
Camilleri Burlo won the first match easily but Anastasi came back to win the next three to reach the final where they faced Ray Condachi’s team that also included Matthew Scicluna, Zach Zammit and Fabio Galea.
Shifty conditions made for a difficult race as Anastasi’s team controlled the first pre-start by crossing to the right of Condachi who entered first on starboard. The wind dropped and Anastasi trailed behind Condachi to lose the first match.
The second match saw Anastasi enter from starboard and dominate the race to win by a good margin and equalise the series.
After changing boats, Anastasi’s team – Mark Vassallo, Tom Bonello Ghio and Karl Miggiani – prevailed in match three and four to seal the issue 3-1 in favour.
Vassallo, mainsheet and spinnaker trimmer, said: “It was a great series where the level improved considerably as we approached the final.
“Our teamwork got sharper race after race. Tom and Karl, the two youngest members in our team, did a great job with boat handling and tactics.”
Condachi is already looking forward to next year’s series.
“We had two members of the team dropping out in some races, so finding last-minute replacements was not an easy task,” he said.
“The final knockout day offered a very tricky wind direction with many shifts and sudden drops in wind strength.
“Even though we had good starts, our slight loss in boat speed cost us the race. We need to brush up our teamwork and will certainly be in a better winning position in the next event.”
The series winners qualified to represent Malta at the Gertrude Cup in the UK this summer.
Four other teams will be chosen from other RMYC competitions in schedule, with the final selection event to be held between June 13 and 14.
In a statement, the Royal Malta Yacht Club showed their appreciation to the volunteers “who dedicated time, effort and expertise to ensure the success of the winter series.
“Special mention also goes to Luca Lacitignola, Brian Darmanin, Paul Ellul, Francesca Vincenti and Peter Dimech,” the club said.