The Royal Malta Yacht Club hosted the first-ever Malta ILCA/Laser Masters regatta, part of the extremely popular EuroMasters Circuit. The regatta took place from March 18-20.
As a first-ever edition, slightly off the beaten track, the very small turnout of 12 ILCA 6/Laser Radials and just three ILCA 7/Laser Standards was to be expected. However, it is expected that word will quickly spread for next year following the show of hospitality and organisation by the hosts.
Owing to something of a storm for the three days and the worst weather in Malta since 2019, racing was confined to Valetta Harbour, with the middle day cancelled due to 40-knot winds and enormous waves at the harbour-mouth. Competitors and their supporters enjoyed a regatta reception, a closing night dinner and excellent shoreside support, featuring Irish transition-year students on a TY sailing programme. These guys risked life and limb to get the Master sailors launched out and back again, in a very tricky onshore wind and swell!
The small fleet of twelve ILCA 6’s from seven nations had really good racing, as the race-course had an amphitheatre feel in the close confines and there was plenty of place changing, with massive wind shifts. Gusts of 25-30 knots were swooping in on both the Friday and Sunday too, and absolutely every single boat in the fleet had a capsize (or a few) on Friday! The enforced rest-day was announced at the reception on Friday night, to enthusiastic applause.
Despite the size, the ILCA 6 fleet had good depth with 4th, 5th and 8th from the recent 60-boat GrandMaster Worlds in Barcelona present; Sean Craig (IRL), Myrin (Swe) and Hunt (GBR), respectively. Myrin sailed best, virtually error-free, and comfortably took the win from Craig in 2nd and Walt Spevak (USA) from San Francisco in 3rd. Three seasoned GBR Master competitors may have been surprised to be all outside the top three, though all had some very good races and moments. In the Ladies, Ireland’s Shirley Gilmore, seen in the attached photo heading upwind under the fabulous Basilica of Our lady, defied her smallish stature and competed really strongly in all 5 races to edge out her Lady rival from Sweden, Ann Loren, who has been competing at the Master Worlds on a regular basis for the last 10 years.
This event, to include the training clinic in the days beforehand is on the calendar again for 2023. Generally, racing will take place outside Valetta Harbour, in superb, rolling waves.
Download results below
