Time to deliver: Rolex Middle Sea Race starts tomorrow

The 45th Rolex Middle Sea Race starts tomorrow, Saturday 19 October, at 11:00 CEST from Grand Harbour, Valletta. The Mediterranean’s most renowned offshore race looks set to deliver another classic race. A diverse spread of yacht designs and crews are set against each other and a common foe... the weather. The impressive fleet will need its wits, given forecast conditions expected to test preparation, sail inventories, tactics, patience and resilience. The 606 nautical mile, circular course is ready to honour its traditional promise to offer a real mix of wind angles and sea states. Entrants range in length from 9.43 metres (31 feet) to 30.48m (100ft), and crews in experience from newcomers to hardened professionals. The overall winner of the Rolex Middle Sea Race and recipient of the magnificent trophy is determined by IRC Time Correction. Skill rather than size will be the determining factor.

A few core details: close to 1,000 crew from 42 nations are spread among 112 yachts representing 30 countries. The oldest participant is 80, the youngest 14. The oldest yacht is Timothy Wilson’s Auzepy-Brenneur 68 El Oro, launched in 1974, the latest is Wolf Scheder-Bieschin’s Judel/Vrolijk 43, Vineta, in 2024. Seb Ripard and Daniel Calascione’s Farr 30 Calypso is the smallest. The largest yachts, meanwhile, are Seng Huang Lee’s Scallywag 100 from Hong Kong and Remon Vos’s Black Jack 100. Although on their debut appearances in current configuration and ownership, both yachts have history with the race. The pair first appeared in 2006 as Maximus and Alfa Romeo II respectively, with Alfa taking line honours. A lot of water has flowed under their hulls in the years since.

Black Jack most recently changed owner this year, and comes into the competition fresh from line honours successes at the 243nm Giraglia and 437nm Palermo – Monte Carlo, where it also broke the course record. Tristan Le Brun, the racing skipper, is looking forward to testing the crew’s mettle against a longer, more exacting course: “What’s very interesting in the Rolex Middle Sea Race is that there are lots of transitions, and we know the wind will vary in direction and strength multiple times. This makes the race exciting and very challenging. Black Jack is the perfect tool because it is fast under a variety of conditions.” Between 2010 and 2014, in the guise of Esimit Europa 2, the 30.46m yacht scored four more line honours victories at this race. This year the opposition is arguably tougher than during that period: “We have some great competition this year, Scallywag in particular is similar to us, with a very competitive team. Lucky is also a canting keeler and can be fast in many conditions, so too Bullitt. That’s three boats we have to watch and try to keep behind us!” For Scallywag, the Hong Kong to Hainan race record holder skippered by David Witt, following an extensive refit in 2023 including a new mast and boom, the race is an opportunity to reveal her refreshed offshore potential.

Last year’s overall winner by 24 seconds, Andrea Recordati’s 93ft Bullitt, returns for a third time with a reinforced crew that includes the experienced ocean racer and weather router, Marcel van Triest. Fresh from Barcelona, Francesco ‘Checco’ Bruni, Luna Rossa's port-side helm is also ​​onboard. "It may seem incredible for a sailor from Palermo," said Bruni, "But this will be my first time at the Rolex Middle Sea Race. I'll get some advice from my brother Ganga, who has already done a lot of them." Lucky from the United States is the former five-time line honours winner, Rambler 88, and is a potent threat if the wind is up. New owner Bryan Ehrhart has experienced the best and worst of the race. An overall winner in 2010 with a TP52, last year he suffered a dismasting with his latest steed.

Despite strong winds from the south predicted for the start, the general conditions do not look stable enough for an attempt on the monohull race record of 40 hours, 17 minutes and 50 seconds set in 2021. “The forecast looks very different compared to recent years with quite a lot of wind, rain and scattered thunderstorms, plus some large areas of light wind,” advises Rolex Middle Sea Race Weather Forecaster Mike Broughton. “We have a low pressure centre moving across Sicily and a frontal system that is due to go through before the race start with a trough line behind it. To keep things challenging, the high ground of Sicily means we will see a big circulation of wind interrupted by land effects. So a real challenge for the whole fleet with plenty of sail changes and reefing likely. Wind from three to 33 knots can be expected during the first 60 hours. This is going to be a hard race and tiring for all the teams from the Maxis to the double handers.”
Bullitt’s navigator, van Triest confirms the tricky outlook: “We have a trough coming through and the speed with which this happens is crucial. For the last few days, the speed has been changing, but at the moment it looks like it will arrive at about 13:00 on Saturday. One hour earlier or later will make a massive difference. Ahead of the trough there will be good breeze, but as it goes through the wind will get lighter. This is the big call early on: can you catch the train out or not.”

Hoping to avoid a delayed departure, the fleet is packed with tried and tested class acts, and plenty of past winners spread among the crews. Eric de Turckheim returns to scene of his 2022 victory with the 54ft Teasing Machine from France. Mitch Booth, a winner with Comanche in 2021, has halved the size of his ride to be part of Franco Niggeler’s Swiss crew on the Cookson 50 Kuka 3. Niggeler has competed on more than ten occasions. “There are two things unique to this race, in my view. The first is Malta, which is a beautiful place. The second is that it is the only race where you have so many meteorological situations you have to match. It is a marvellous race.” Stefan Jentzsch’s German Botin 56 Black Pearl, winner of this year’s Aegean 600, has recalled to its crew roster Marc Lagesse, winning navigator with Bullitt. Lee Satariano and Christian Ripard from Malta, triumphant together in 2011 and 2014, are competing once again with Satariano’s latest Artie, an HH42. “If you look at the current forecast, the first night is potentially difficult,” commented Ripard. “The wind is not that strong, but the rain and thunder cloud are right where we want to go and that could cause things that do not come up on the forecast, such as big squalls.” The Podesta siblings from Malta, Aaron, Christoph and Maya, return with the First 45 Elusive 2, back-to-back winner in 2019 and 2020, while French sailor Géry Trentesaux, skipper of top boat in 2018, is also here, this time with a Sydney 43 Long Courrier.

From the boats on their first attempt at the course, astute eyes will be drawn to the immaculate Maxi72 Balthasar. While the boat is new to the race, the crew is stacked with seasoned offshore racing campaigners, several of whom have participated in this race before. Stu Bannatyne, Louis Balcaen and Pablo Arrate join Bouwe Bekking among others. Bekking had this to say about the course and challenge ahead: “The most appealing thing is that there are so many corners, so many islands to go around, so you have plenty of opportunities to do well. You sail in your class, but you race against the whole fleet because the trophy you sail for is the overall. Everybody is a competitor, and we saw that perfectly last year. Basically, you have to sail your socks off.”

Steve Hayles is another experienced sailor on a boat making its first appearance, Alex Laing’s ICE52 Goose. "It is hard to pick whether this is a big or small boat race. All the models are struggling with the timing of the low pressure trough. It is fairly 'washed out' and not very well defined, and its timing will have a huge impact on the first few hours. I think it is going to be a fascinating race and will bring the variety of conditions that we often expect from the Rolex Middle Sea Race. This is never an easy one to win and that is what keeps us all coming back year after year!”

At the other end of the experience scale is Pippa Bartolo Parnis on the 35ft J/109 Jarhead, entered by the Jarhead Young Sailors Foundation (JYS). She is one of the three youngest crew competing in their first ever Rolex Middle Sea Race. “I am really looking forward to the race. I have done a couple of shorter offshore races this year, and love the sense of freedom being at sea offers. I also like the dynamic of the team and being part of a big family onboard,” said the 15-year-old Bartolo Parnis, who has been fully involved in preparing the boat in recent weeks.

Taking part in this race at a young age is a rite of passage followed by several Maltese sailors. Christian Ripard’s first go was in 1976, also aged 15. He offered some advice to the young debutants: “The Rolex Middle Sea Race can be an easy or a hell of a ride, do not underestimate the Mediterranean. Do it because you are keen and have ambition and, above all, race with people who know what they are doing!” In this respect, Bartolo Parnis is on the right track. The JYS Foundation is based in Malta and offers the opportunity for aspiring ocean racers to learn the skills and resilience required to take on such a testing examination. A number of its graduates are scattered around the fleet, and Jarhead itself is led by 25-year-old alumnus Gary Mercieca, on his fourth race. “It is quite inspirational to be with Gary,” remarked Bartolo Parnis. “It shows me what I can achieve if I work hard and continue to learn.” Lest anyone is concerned, written parental consent is required for all participants under the age of 18.

While the main body of the fleet will be racing for the overall prize awarded to the best yacht under IRC time correction, there are many other incentives to do well including the simple, but rewarding satisfaction of completing one of the world’s classic 600 milers. The Rolex Middle Sea Race initiates the RORC Season’s Points Championship 2025, it is the opening salvo in the International Maxi Association Mediterranean Offshore Challenge and forms part of the Swan Maxi Series. There is an ORC division and Nautor Swan yachts more generally are competing for a Mediterranean Challenge trophy. The double handers have line honours and handicap class trophies to compete for, as do the local Maltese fleet.

The final prize giving is scheduled for Saturday 26 October, and the start procedures beginning tomorrow morning are just the first steps in a long and fascinating journey. While the weather is uncertain, one constant is that an enthralling stream of stories will play out over the coming week.