George David’s American Maxi, Rambler 88, has taken line honours in the Rolex Middle Sea Race for the second year in succession.

The light winds of the first 24 hours meant that the mono-hull and, indeed, outright race record of 1 day, 23 hours, 55 minutes and 3 seconds, set by David himself in 2007, in a previous Rambler, remains intact for another year.

It was a tough race for the Rambler 88 crew, mentally rather than physically.

There were several transition zones in the wind to be outwitted in order to secure the lead. And, the quality and depth of the international fleet was such that Rambler 88 could never afford to relax during the race.

The Danish Volvo 70, Trifork, helmed by Bouwe Bekking was the main protagonist, nipping at the heels of Rambler 88 and, at one stage, briefly taking pole position.

The Rambler 88 crew reacted well to the pressure, never panicking, staying focused and eventually pulling away in the second half of the race to beat her closest rival by five hours.

Rambler 88 made it home in an elapsed time of two days, 14 hours, 3 minutes and 26 seconds.

There is all to play for in the Rolex Middle Sea Race though.

When Trifork crossed the finish line, she overtook Rambler in the overall corrected time standings, setting the bar for the remaining yachts racing to beat.

George David (left) receives a Rolex watch from Malcolm Lowell, of Edwards Lowell. Photo: Rolex/Kurt Arrigo

Yesterday, David and the Rambler 88 crew (Erle Williams, Brad Jackson, Rodney Ardern, Joca Signorini, Andrew Cape, Silvio Arrivabene, Josh Belsky, Lorenzo Mazza, Will McCarthy, Stu Wilson, Dean Phipps, Nathan Hislop, Mark Newbrook, Joe Fanelli, Jerry Kirby, Scott Beavis, Curtis Blewett, Brian Giorgio and Robbie Naismith) were welcomed ashore by Godwin Zammit, Commodore of the Royal Malta Yacht Club.

“The story of the race was that we had a couple of big shut downs in the breeze,” David said.

“The first was near Messina before the strait and the second one was right around Stromboli. Each time the breeze just shut down and the fleet behind sailed into us. We were all parked together and had to restart.

“And we restarted at least twice.

“I would say this race was more frustrating than our previous ones. I’ve rarely seen compression as we had it those two times east of Messina and off Stromboli.

“I’m pretty confident the eventual results will show that we won the race clearly from Palermo to Malta and that we lost the race clearly from Malta to Palermo.

“It was effectively two races.”

David reiterated his positive views and international standing of the Rolex MSR.

“The Rolex Middle Sea Race is always fun,” he said.

“This is the most beautiful racecourse in the world and that is a fact. The islands on a clear day are spectacular and Stromboli always erupts a little bit.

“We keep coming back because of the beauty of Malta, the hospitality of the people, the scenic views on the racecourse, and the wind which can be great but also frustrating.”

As regards his crew, David knows he can rely on them to turn things around in difficult situations.

“This crew has been together a long time and they have been through some tough times,” David explained.

“A half-dozen were with me in 2007 in this race, and maybe seven were with us in Ireland (in the 2011 Rolex Fastnet Race) when the 100-foot boat went upside down. So, it is a very steady group, it is a quiet group, nobody raises his voice at all.

“We work well together and there is a lot of camaraderie and teamwork. It is part of the joy of sailing to have a good group to do it with.

“When conditions are like they were in this race, we have two helmsmen in particular who seem to like it when the boat is going 0.00.

“I don’t like it. Typically, I go away somewhere, it’s not for me! When I saw Trifork come up to us at Stromboli I was a little concerned. Nobody ever gets angry or upset, but you do wonder how it can happen.”

David remains keen on his sailing and preparation but knows that good fortune is also part of the game.

“It is a fun, challenging sport partly be-cause of the element of luck,” he said.

“You can do all the preparation you want, all the strategy, planning, organisation, training, design, materials, building… everything you can name but sometimes there is an element of luck.

“I don’t mind it. It is part of the game.”

All-time line honours (mono-hull)

1968: Stormvogel
1969: Stormvogel
1970: Stella Polare
1971: Penduik III
1972: Mania
1973: War Baby
1974: Entreara II
1975: Benbow
1976: Benbow
1977: Benbow
1978: Mistress Quickly
1979: Rumegal
1980: Bumblebee IV
1981: Antares
1982: Nirvana
1983: Saudade
1996: Alexia B
1997: Sagamore
1998: Riviera di Rimini
1999: Riviera di Rimini
2000: Zephyrus IV
2001: Strait Dealer
2002: Nautor Challenge
2003: Alfa Romeo
2004: Alfa Romeo
2005: Atalanta II
2006: Alfa Romeo
2007: Rambler
2008: Alegre
2009: Icap Leonard
2010: Esimit Europa
2011: Esimit Europa 2
2012: Esimit Europa 2
2013: Morning Glory
2014: Esimit Europa 2
2015: Rambler 88
2016: Rambler 88

Note: The MSR was not held between 1984 and 1995.