It is not an illusion of The Twelfth of Never but a vivid portrayal of The Twelfth Successful Story of an event born to give young sailors a challenge and an advantageous opportunity in home waters. Wilfred Sultana reviews the 2011 Euromed Malta Championship
The Euromed Malta Championship 2011, the 12th in the series, gave organisers, the Malta Young Sailors Club, great pride and satisfaction following months of hard work to secure a record participation of 130 sailors from 10 nations – Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, Monaco, Israel, San Marino, Denmark, Germany, Rumania and Malta.
Winning six of the eight races in programme, Edward Fleri Soler confirmed his current form as Malta’s top Optimist sailor.
This was his last chance to win the prestigious award due to age limit. Fleri Soler started sailing at the age of seven and contested the first of his six Euromeds in 2005.
The past six years saw him winning the Cadet Class (2007) and placing second overall (2009) in Euromed. He was the Optimist Malta champion in 2009 and 2010 besides winning many other local regattas.
Fleri Soler also took part in a number of overseas events where he attained notable results the likes of a second place in the Cadet Class of the 2007 UK National Champion-ships in Wales, and a second (2010) and third (2011) place in the Mediterranean Cup in Italy.
His victory marked Malta’s fifth win in 12 editions, a significant feat for local sailors particularly to the Fleri Soler and Zammit Tabona families.
In fact, Edward is the third Fleri Soler member to prevail at the Euromeds.
In 2002 there was Matthew and in 2008 there was Ella, cousin and sister respectively of Edward. The other two ‘Malta’ Euromeds were won by Thomas Zammit Tabona, who is the only sailor yet to win the overall award twice, in 2006 and 2007.
Russia and Sweden have two victories each, with Ireland, Italy and Turkey having won one championship each.
This year’s results had sailors of different nationalities making the podium – Malta (7 awards), Italy (4), Russia (3), the United Kingdom (2), Monaco (2) and Israel (1)... a pleasant outcome as expressed during the prize-giving ceremony at the end of the event.
“This was the first Euromed for both Christian and Veronica,” said Denmark’s John Torp who accompanied his children to Malta.
“The timing of the event is good. In Denmark the training season ends in November. With the perfect sailing conditions, possible charter boats, nice accommodation and reasonable air fares, it made it an ideal choice for us.
“We will consider coming back next year.”
For a number of editions now Russia have been ever-present with a strong group.
Sergey Semenov, in charge of the Russian team of 11 sailors, was also satisfied with the outcome.
“Our sailors from the national team could not come this year which made retaining the Euromed title most difficult,” he said.
“Yet we were satisfied with the overall result and had two sailors featuring in the Top 10 in the Open Class. We look forward to coming back next year as we hope to continue making the Euromeds a traditional meeting.”
But how do youngsters racing at the Euro-meds perform, considering the sailing rules they have to observe and the weather which, like this year, could be quite rough?
“In many ways a dinghy regatta is more demanding on the PRO than for seasoned skippers and crew,” Peter Dimech, Principal Race Officer, said.
“The young sailor is less aware of potential dangers. They tend to overlook wind and sea conditions. The PRO has to make decisions keeping in mind the imbalance in the skills and experience of the fleet.”
I left the final comment to John Ripard, a founder parent of the MYSC and Euromeds.
“Fortunately, there are many generous individuals who come together to ensure the Euro-meds are a continuing success,” he said.
“I still offer my assistance and support because for me it is the culmination of the efforts of clubs such as the MYSC and the BBSC who believe in getting youngsters on the water, generation after generation. And, it is these youngsters who will eventually represent Malta on the international scene.
“Suffice to say that my cousin, Christian, together with my son Sebastian on board, have just won their class in the prestigious and immensely challenging Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.
“This is the hope for sailing in Malta, an annual event attracting over 100 participants from different nations, giving our sailors a unique opportunity to test their skills on a truly international stage.
“Yes I have been there from the start but I cannot help but mention Anna Rossi for her sheer determination in getting the participants to Malta and, of course, Jean-Paul Fleri Soler, who not only coaches our sailors but also invests so much time and effort in bringing new children on the water every year.”
The championship was organised by the Malta Young Sailors Club with the co-operation of Kunsill Malti għall-iSport and the Mellieħa Local Council, and held under the patronage of the Malta Sailing Federation.