As the start of the 37th Rolex Middle Sea Race approaches, the fleet that is building up for this annual 606-nautical mile Mediterranean offshore classic is looking as impressive as ever.
So far, 25 countries are set to be represented at next Saturday’s Grand Harbour start, with Italy, as in past years, enjoying the greatest presence.
Strong growth has been registered by Russia as the UK entry has seen a slight increase from the 2015 race.
The Rolex MSR will be welcoming back boats from Denmark and Ukraine, both without an appearance in the last five years, while Sweden will be returning after an absence of two consecutive races.
With boats also coming over form Australia and the United States, the 2016 Rolex MSR fleet has become truly global.
Looking through the crew list one can also see a number of well-known sailors including Adrian Stead, Vincenzo Onorato, Flavio Favini, Branko Brcin, Ian Moore, Giovanni Soldini, Pierre Casiraghi and Mikey Muller.
RORC Racing manager Nick Elliot will be taking part in his first big offshore race on Gemervescence as old faithful Beppe Bisotto is back for the 11th consecutive year on board Atame.
Local sailors Timmy Camilleri, Podesta trio Aaron, Christoph and Maya, Lee Satariano, and, Christian and Sebastian Ripard, will be at the start, too, while Royal Malta Yacht Club official Jamie Sammut is this year registered for the demanding double-handed class.
Among top monohulls, George David’s Rambler 88 will be back after having won monohull line honours in 2015. The current course record, unbeaten since 2007, was set by David himself with a previous Rambler.
Also returning are Cippa Lippa and Mascalzone Latino, the two Cookson 50 boats that are no strangers to this race.
Last year, Vincenzo Onorato’s Mascalzone Latino narrowly missed out to B2 for the coveted IRC win.
A good challenge is also expected from the two TP52s – Audax Energia and Team Van Uden Performance – while the popular J-boats will be out in full force again.
Multi-hulls have shown a marked increase in popularity. In fact, following substantial development, this class has become a highly competitive one.
In 2015, the category included Lloyd Thornburg’s Phaedo 3, which took multi-hull line honours, and Peter Aschenbrenner’s MOD 70 Paradox, winning on corrected time.
This year there will be four multi-hulls, including Phaedo 3, as trimaran Maserati Multi70, skippered by Giovanni Soldini, will make its first appearance in the race.
The Multi-50s Ciela Village will also join the fray for the first time. Her skipper, Thierry Bouchard, won the Rolex MSR in 2008 on board Spirit of Ad Hoc.
The R-Six – a cruising catamaran – is the other entry in the multi-hull race.
Maltese boats
A distinct fleet of local boats will be proudly flying the Maltese flag in this year’s race.
Lee Satariano’s J/122 Artie, the 2014 winner, will be back with renewed optimism. Although in 2015 the Artie crew sailed well to win their class, light wind prevented them from making a repeat victory.
Artie will be joined by another J/122 – Otra Vez – skippered by the Gatt Floridia brothers. The Podesta siblings will keep the family legacy going with the participation of their First-45 Elusive 2 BOV.
Sammut will be crewing his Solaris One 42 Unica in the double-handed race.
Camilleri, veteran of many international races, this time joins the XP-Act crew as David Pizzuto’s IMX40 Geisha and Jonathan Gambin’s Ton Ton Dufour 44P will also make a return to the fleet.
Sean Borg’s XP44 Xpresso, making its debut on this famed course, completes the Maltese fleet in the race.
The Rolex MSR starts on Saturday from Grand Harbour at 11am.