Maltese Boats shine in Yachting Malta Coastal Race

The Yachting Malta Coastal Race is the traditional curtain-call for the Rolex Middle Sea Race. This year's race was a light wind affair with the fleet enjoying a gentle 12-mile race to Comino Island. The overall winner after IRC time correction was the Maltese J/99 Calypso, skippered by Seb Ripard. Second was Jonathan Gambin's Maltese Dufour 44 Ton Ton Laferla. Third was RORC Commodore James Neville racing his British HH42 Ino XXX.

Less than one minute separated the top three overall after IRC time correction, despite them racing in different IRC Classes. Runners up in the respective classes were: Francois Bopp's Swiss Farr52 Chocolate; the Podesta family racing the Maltese First 45 Elusive 2, and Ludovic Gérard's French JPK 1080 Solenn For Pure Ocean.

Finishing third in their respective classes were: Yves Grosjean's French Neo 430 Neo Jivaro, Conor Doyle's Irish Xp50 Freya, and Jonathan Mckee's American Sun Fast 3300 Red Ruby.
Yachting Malta CEO Michael Mifsud commented "While we wish all teams the very best for the big race ahead, Yachting Malta and the Malta Sailing Federation are delighted with the results of the Coastal Race. We are proud to see our Maltese sailors doing so well against world class opposition.."

The Yachting Malta Coastal Race Prize Giving ceremony will be hosted at the Owners' Reception tonight, Wednesday 19 October.

The 606 nautical mile Rolex Middle Sea Race is set to start at 11:00 CEST from Grand Harbour on Saturday, 22 October.