A close of business on Friday, 20th September the 45th Rolex Middle Sea Race, which starts on 19th October 2024, had amassed a fleet of 110 yachts. The entrants represent 29 countries: from Australia in the south to Finland in the north, and from the United States in the west to Hong Kong in the east. It is an exceptional, diverse and highly competitive fleet. The Royal Malta Yacht Club (RMYC) and its race organizing committee are thrilled with the continued enthusiasm shown for this classic race. Should anyone still wish to join the adventure, the RMYC has reserved the right to accept late entries up until Friday, 27 September

The raw facts are as follows: 109 monohulls, the largest of which are Scallywag 100 and Black Jack 100, both 30.48 metres (100 feet) in length; the smallest yacht is Muttley-BDM Audit at 9.75m (32ft); and, remarkably, France with 21 crews is matching Italy for the most entries, a first for the race. There is one multihull, the Rapido 53 XS Picomole launched in April 2023, and which successfully took on the Aegean 600 earlier this year. The full entry list is available here

The monohull fleet will be racing under IRC Time Correction for the Rolex Middle Sea Race trophy, awarded to the overall winner of the race. The magnificent sculpture was created by Emanuel ‘Emvin’ Cremona for the first race in 1968, and is a worthy trophy for an event of this stature.

“The Royal Malta Yacht Club is thrilled that such a talented and wide-ranging fleet is set to grace the magnificent Rolex Middle Sea Race course this year,” said RMYC Commodore David Cremona. “We are looking forward to hosting this truly international fleet come October. Our welcome will be as hospitable as always and, together with our many race partners, we are working hard to make sure the experience for all crews is exceptional.”

Plenty of crews will have their eye on the main trophy, not least those that have won it before. The most recent past winner is Andrea Recordati’s Bullitt, the 28.3m Judel & Vrolijk designed Wally Yacht, which claimed overall victory by 24 seconds from the much smaller Red Ruby last year. Bullitt was the first ever Wally to participate in the Rolex Middle Sea Race, and the only one to have successfully completed the course. A feat achieved twice. Géry Trentesaux, the winner in 2018 with Courrier Recommandé, returns with his latest yacht, the Sydney 43 Courrier Long. Trentesaux almost secured back to back wins, finishing second in 2019. The winners that year famously did achieve consecutive wins.

The Maltese Podesta siblings, Aaron, Christoph and Maya Podesta, managed in 2019 and 2020 something no yacht had managed since Nita’s three-peat in 1978,79 and 80. Lee Satariano, with co-skipper Christian Ripard, has tasted victory on two occasions in 2011 and 2014 with his previous yacht, the J/121. The current HH42 Artie III finished second in class in 2022, so has potential. Christian Ripard has won the race in his own right as skipper of the J/105 Bigfoot in 1996, and this year reaches 34 races matching the current record set by another local hero, Arthur Podesta, who sadly passed away in 2015.

Another winning owner is American Bryan Ehrhardt, who won in 2010 with his then TP52 Lucky on his debut appearance. Ehrhardt has upgraded his boat of choice over the intervening period and last year entered his latest Lucky, the former five-time line honours winner Rambler 88. Dismasted off north west Sicily in 2023, Ehrhardt is undeterred and back again. Last, but by no means least, Eric de Turckheim returns to the scene of his triumph in 2022 with the same yacht, Teasing Machine. This NMYD 54 is always a threat at any offshore

This small selection is not the only talent on display. A number of debutant teams will carry plenty of experience into the fray, with reputations to match. The two most powerful yachts, on paper at least, Scallywag 100 and Black Jack 100 are proven line honours winners in both their current and their former guises. Black Jack, in particular, had success in finishing first on elapsed time at the Rolex Middle Sea Race as Alfa Romeo 2 in 2006, and then Esimit Europa 2 between 2010 and 2014. Meanwhile, Scallywag from Hong Kong, owned by Seng-Huang Lee and skippered by David Witt, is the former Maximus, which raced here in 2006 finishing second behind Alfa Romeo 2. Black Jack recently changed hands, and the new owner, Remon Vos from The Netherlands, has already notched up line honours success this summer at the Giraglia and subsequently the Palermo-Montecarlo Race, where the crew set a new course record in the process.

The third debutant of note is Didier Gaudoux, who secured victory at the Rolex Fastnet Race in 2017. Gaudoux’s latest yacht is Lann Ael 3, a Manuard-Nivelt design, specifically configured to be sailed double-handed. Its abilities were also proven at the Giraglia this year, where Gaudoux, racing two-handed with Ewan Tabarly, put in a storming performance to win overall.

Other credentials to be considered include Franco Niggeler’s Swiss Cookson 50 Kuka 3, third in class in 2023 and a past winner of the RORC Transatlantic Race; Red Bandit, winner of the 2023 Giraglia; and Black Pearl, which campaigned their previous yacht, a Carkeek 47, to a class win in 2019. Now racing a water-ballasted Botin 56, the crew were overall winners at the Aegean 600 in 2024.

Three female skippered yachts deserve mention too. Linda Goddard’s Swan 53 Bedouin from Australia, has twice participated in the Aegean 600 and recently took part in the Rolex Swan Cup in Sardinia, finishing second in class. Nikki Henderson, the youngest ever skipper to lead a Clipper Round the World Race team, takes charge of the First 53 Yagiza. In 2019, Henderson led the all-women crew on JYS Jan in the Rolex Middle Sea Race. Ursula Berger’s mostly Austrian crew on Sportski Vuk 44 have sailed together since 2017. Their first attempt at the Rolex Middle Sea Race ended in disappointment when, along with close to 50% of the fleet, they were forced to retire due to a lack of wind on the course. In this regard, the race is unfinished business.

These are just a few of the highlights. There are many more stories within this impressive, international fleet, and no doubt many surprises waiting to happen once the race gets underway.

The 45th Rolex Middle Sea Race will start on Saturday, 19 October 2024. Late entries will be accepted up until Friday, 27 September