The bulk of the Rolex Middle Sea Race fleet is situated in the Grand Harbour, specifically in Galley Creek, the stretch of water that lies between Fort St Angelo and Fort St Michael.
Towering above the fleet in the Grand Harbour Marina in Vittoriosa is the 19th-century clock tower, built of iron, steel, and Maltese rock, rising above the Malta Maritime Museum.
The museum, formerly the Royal Naval Bakery, was constructed in the mid-1900s and supplied the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean fleet, but equally important was that the clock was used to set marine chronometers of the day.
Malta is rich in history, 7,000 years of it, particularly the seafaring kind. What with Malta being the site of St Paul’s shipwreck in AD 60, it doesn’t get much richer than that.
The island’s location right in the middle of the Mediterranean made it the natural locus of the traditional trading routes.
Though these days it’s a little off the beaten path for the regular yacht racing circuit, that seems to work to its advantage as well – you have to want to do the Rolex Middle Sea Race to make the trek here. And once you’ve done it the first time, chances are you’ll feel compelled to return again.
Piero Paniccia, skipper and owner of the canting-keeled Cookson 50, Calipso IV (ITA) is back for his second Rolex Middle Sea Race. For Paniccia, it’s worth the 600-nautical mile delivery from his homeport of Civitinova Marche, Italy, on the Adriatic, to get here.
Tending to some last details onboard he said: “We are very happy to be here because this is the most important race in the Mediterranean.
“The forecast that we have for the start (tomorrow) is for wind from the southeast – the scirocco – so the first leg should be a fast delivery to Messina.
“For us, it’s a good forecast because the boat will be fast in those conditions. I think the crew is okay and we have the opportunity to do a good result.”
Paniccia has owned the boat since 2005 and has upgraded it from year to year. About last year’s race, he said: “We won our class, and for a few minutes we were in second place in IRC!
“The race is important for us; it’s a challenge – to say that we have finished the Middle Sea Race, okay, you are really a sailor. Finally, it’s a holiday for us and to have some days in Malta, it’s pretty nice.”
Edward Broadway on the Farr 40, Hooligan VI (GBR) is another returnee.
“It’s a very special event,” Broadway said. “Last year, we were surprised with the speed changes.
“We understand weather in Northern Europe, which is understandable because of fronts coming, but here we were not very good in reading the weather signs. We will be better this year.”
Hooligan VI spent the summer racing in the highly-competitive Farr 40 Mediterranean circuit. “We are the only amateur crew, and we came last in both regattas,” Broadway pointed out.
“But in Porto Rotondo, our last regatta, we weren’t last in every race, so we’re starting to be competitive with some of the best of the world. We are very happy about it.
“We’ve got four of the same crew for this race, and I have some of my inshore crew from the Mediterranean events, as well as some of my youth crew. I would say we are getting better!”
As to what lured him back to the race, Broadway replied: “It’s challenging. But it is everything more than that.
“This year it will be enjoyable, I think. This is the fourth time I have been to Malta. The Grand Harbour is stunning – to sail into a crusader Fort, it’s unbelievable!”