Middle Sea Race drifter

Patience was required for competitors on the 118 yachts which set off for this year’s 606mile Rolex Middle Sea Race, with competitors struggling for doublefigure (or indeed single-figure) boat speeds at times. After a start on 22 October in zephyr-light conditions from Valetta's Grand Harbour, some boats picked up marginal breezes, only for the winds to die on the first night approaching Messina Strait.

The keenest racing was in the MOD70 fleet, which this year saw five of the former onedesign trimarans taking part, many under new ownership and having undergone optimisation programmes. First home was Riccardo Pavoncelli's Mana (formerly Spindrift), with an experienced MOD70 crew that included Paul Larsen, Jonny

Malbon and Alexia Barrier. They were chased hard by Erik Maris’s Zoulou (formerly Powerplay), which finished just 56 seconds behind, with Giovanni Soldini’s Maserati 10 minutes further back. In 4th was Snowflake (ex-foncia/phaedo 3).

“We had been hunted for 400 miles and more, we were constantly looking behind our back. Frankly until the last few seconds we did not know if we were going to make it," Pavoncelli commented.

By Monday night, after three days of racing, only these four

70ft trimarans had finished, the tail-ender monohulls still battling to round the first island of Stromboli, and a growing number of retirements.

First monohull home was Leopard 3, the sole 100-footer in this year’s race. With only the fastest boats on the western portion of the course sailing in consistent breezes, as Leopard finished in Valetta, the fleet was spread over 400 miles. As Sebastian Ripard reported from on board the Maltese J/99 Calypso approaching Stromboli: “We have used every sail in the inventory, and now we are sitting absolutely still. It is probably time for a swim."