The 606-nautical-mile race around Sicily began with seven cannon-fire starts from Malta's Grand Harbour, where light winds greeted the fleet beneath Valletta's historic bastions and the Three Cities.
Thousands of spectators watched from the waterfront as yachts ranging from double-handed offshore racers to the 100-foot maxi Black Jack 100 manoeuvred for position before heading towards Sicily.
The start followed the build-up to this year's race, which features a particularly strong maxi yacht entry and Irish participation aboard leading offshore contenders, including Black Jack and Pace, as detailed in Afloat's preview of the Mediterranean offshore racing programme.
Seven Starts Bring Fleet into Action
The first start, for IRC 6 at 11:00 CEST, saw Red Ruby depart strongly at the pin end of the line, alongside Callisto and Munjek. Ten minutes later, Courrier Pogo was among the quickest away in IRC 5, with Loewe von Bremen and Jules also prominent.
Grand Departure – Seven cannon-fire starts sent 107 yachts and 945 sailors from 55 countries out of Malta's Grand Harbour for the 606-nautical-mile Rolex Middle Sea Race around Sicily. Photo: Kurt Arrigo
The Royal Malta Yacht Club contingent featured strongly in the third start. Luis Azzopardi's IMX 45 Kixx Me, carrying three sailors under 18, including 15-year-old Lily Ellul, was among those making a competitive departure.
The Podesta family's First 45 Elusive 2, Mario Debono's Grand Soleil 46 Seven and Jonathan Gambin's Dufour 44 Ton Ton Laferla Insurance also gave the home spectators plenty to follow.
Dubrovnik, About Time and Mia Gioia featured in the fourth start for IRC 3. The fifth start brought the Class40 offshore racers into action, with Optimus Prime, Stella Nova and Flamingo Rosso pushing hard from the outset.
Unlike the IRC competitors, the five Class40s are competing for first-past-the-post honours, while the multihulls compete under MOCRA. The ORC 50 Calamity made the strongest multihull start.
As the breeze strengthened for the final two starts, the larger yachts produced some of the day's closest tactical exchanges.
First-Night Test – Light and variable winds threaten to reshape the early standings as competitors approach the Strait of Messina, with tactical decisions likely to prove crucial in the 606-mile offshore contest. Photo: Andrea Azzopardi
In IRC 2, James Neville's Botin 65 Artemis Bleu and Frédéric Puzin's Carkeek 54 Daguet 5 were closely matched, with Arkas Blue Moon joining the contest as the yachts cleared Grand Harbour.
The final start produced a particularly dramatic encounter between defending overall champion Balthasar, the Mills 72 skippered by Louis Balcaen, and Black Jack 100.
Balthasar made an excellent start near the Saluting Battery but was immediately challenged by Black Jack, which approached from a more central position. After tacking close to the harbour bastions, Balthasar ducked behind Black Jack and entered another close encounter with Giovanni Lombardi Stronati's Django 7X.
Black Jack and Pace Set the Early Pace
By just after 16:00 CEST, Black Jack 100 had become the first monohull to pass Capo Passero, on Sicily's southeastern tip, holding a two-nautical-mile advantage over Johnny Vincent's Volvo 70 Pace.
Django 7X and Balthasar were racing side by side behind the leading pair, with the contest for monohull line honours already taking shape. Jen Kellinghusen's Ker 56 Varuna VI and Alex Laing's VO65 Jajo were also closely matched, with Black Jack still visible on the horizon.
Opening Moves – Giovanni Lombardi Stronati's Django 7X was among the leading contenders in the Rolex Middle Sea Race, racing alongside defending champion Balthasar as the fleet headed towards Sicily. Andrea Azzopardi
Further back, Artemis Bleu, Daguet 5, Il Mostro, and Wind Whisper raced in another closely grouped pack.
Only seven nautical miles separated the leading ten monohulls as they approached the first major turning point. On provisional IRC-corrected time, Pace led both the overall standings and IRC 1, ahead of Django 7X and Balthasar.
However, with only a small proportion of the 606-mile course completed, these early handicap positions remain highly provisional. The opening hours have nevertheless established an intriguing contest between Black Jack's outright speed and Pace's early corrected-time performance.
Among the multihulls, Calamity had established an 11-nautical-mile advantage over Luke Seawalker, with Garbina J third.
The Class40 contest was considerably closer, with Optimus Prime holding a one-nautical-mile advantage over both Flamingo Rosso and Stella Nova.
Light Winds Promise a Testing First Night
The Royal Malta Yacht Club's Commodore, Mark Napier, welcomed the fleet's successful departure.
"The start of the Rolex Middle Sea Race always delivers a dramatic spectacle and, even in light airs, the fleet were an impressive sight as they set off this morning," he said. "The Royal Malta Yacht Club is delighted that the crews got away without difficulty and are now well on their way to Sicily. We look forward to their stories from the course and eventually welcoming them back to Malta over the coming days."
With the breeze forecast to weaken during the evening, progress beyond Capo Passero could prove important for the leading yachts.
The notoriously difficult Strait of Messina and potentially patchy winds along Sicily's northern coast will provide further tactical challenges.
For the Irish sailors aboard the leading contenders, the opening exchanges have been encouraging, but the race around Sicily is only beginning.
The fleet must still navigate the volcanic islands north of Sicily, the island's western end, and the return passage to Malta before the overall winner can be determined. Positions are based on the race organiser's tracker update shortly after 16:00 CEST on Saturday, 17th October.
