Grand Harbour Marina Blog

“This race is challenging, and thats why we come!” Mike from Ericsson

“More important is that the guys are ok”…”I like this Island …Friendly…Beautiful…”  Valentin from Coral

“Maltese people are very friendly and always on time!” Matthias from Nix

“It was a tough route but it was beautiful and very exciting”…. “Malta is beautiful for anchoring” Gijgs from Kings Legend

“Malta is amazing..very friendly people”…”It’s my first time and I think that there is a lot of interesting history” Simon from Nadejda

“Experienced 8 thunder storms in 24 hours!!!” Paolo from Shambala

“Found many problems”…“The very best sailors can finish this race” Richard from Silver Chiller

The very best sailors can finish this race... Agreed!

...and also the very best sailors can include something so just

say whats on your mind. We look forward to hearing it or in this

case reading it ...

Royal Malta Yacht Club

Valletta, Malta

October 23, 2009

Two admirable feats of seamanship ended in Marsamxett Harbour in the early hours of Friday morning. The last two yachts in the 30th Rolex Middle Sea Race finally completed the 606 nautical mile course. Double-handed. Both crews have faced the adversity of a race that twenty-three fully crewed yachts were unable to cope with. The third two-handed yacht that started the race last Saturday retired on the second day. The tales from the two yachts are similar. Both crews know they have achieved; both walk away with a sense of pride. One tale ended more happily than the other, but the accomplishment outweighs any disappointment. 

The two yachts concerned could not be at further ends of the competitive spectrum.Cymba was crewed by Isidoro Santececca and Francesco Piva aged 51 and 41 respectively. They have raced together for a number of years, including three previous Rolex Middle Sea Races, winning the double-handed division in 2002. Steven and Michael Clough, the co-skippers of Cambo III, are cousins aged 63 and 60. Neither has extensive experience of short-handed racing and none at all over the course of this race. Santececca and Piva were racing a Sunfast 3200, a modern yacht design suited to sailing with limited crew. The Cloughs were on board a Hunter Mystery 35, described in the yachting press as having “an air of restrained elegance that suggests docile manners.” Cambo III is pretty, with classic lines. She is two-feet longer overall than Cymba, but four feet shorter on the waterline. She is also 2,500kg heavier. Not exactly a racing yacht then. 

Short-handed racing is as much about the preparation and the mind-set, as it is about the execution. Ahead of the race, both crews exhibited a quiet confidence, a willingness to accept whatever was to be thrown at them and simply to get on with it. A trait particularly appealing to the Maltese. Santececca and Piva set off with thoughts in mind of competing in the 2011 Transquadra, a 2,700 nautical mile from Madeira to Martinique. The Cloughs just hoped to get around the track and preferably inside the time limit. The weather and sea conditions faced by the smaller yachts have been well described already. That a third of the fleet failed to complete the race, most retiring within the first thirty-six hours, puts the achievement of these Italian and British crews into better perspective. 

For much of the race the two yachts were locked together, fighting out a duel in traditional style, ‘mano-a-mano’. Cymba led at Capo Passero by 25-minutes. Cambo III had reversed that deficit by Messina and extended their on-water lead by Stromboli to over an hour. At Favignana the split was back to 25-minutes in favour of the British. Neither crew was aware that by this stage their contest within the context of the Rolex Middle Sea Race had effectively ended. The crew of Cymba explained, “The beat was very tough between Stromboli and Favignana. This boat is better at downwind sailing and reaching rather than upwind. We were having real problems with the mainsail. Some of the race we had to do with three reefs and part of the race without a main at all. We tried to repair it, but this was very difficult.” Cymba’s mistake, which seems entirely understandable given the conditions and their situation, was to pass inside one of the Aeolian Islands in breach of the Sailing Instructions. “We made a genuine mistake and have officially retired because we did not want to be disqualified.” The crew walk away heads held high, “for us it makes no difference; it was important to finish the race. It has not left a bitter taste in our mouths. We are here, that is important, and we feel like winners.” 

The Cloughs indicated that they had almost made the same error. Seeking some shelter in the lee of Alicudi looked to be a good option until a last-minute check of the course reminded them of the correct route. 

Racing on, oblivious of the fatal error by Cymba, the two crews arrived at Pantelleria 10-minutes apart. The Italians back in the lead. Both Cambo III’s autopilots chose this moment to pack up adding further stress to her crew’s situation. “We were struggling. The tiller is heavy and it is really heavy in a lot of wind. Once past Pantelleria I kept her as close to the wind as I could to keep a lot of weight off and ease the main to try and balance her as best I could, but I was exhausted, absolutely exhausted.” Steve took over and did the night shift allowing Michael to recover. 

By Lampedusa, the Cloughs had seemingly worked a miracle, had overcome their issue with the autopilots and found themselves ahead by over an hour again, as Michael explained, “we thought Cymba would be well ahead of us because she had been going faster when we last saw her. By chance I checked the fleet tracker and saw we were ahead. We didn’t believe it possible. Steve had done a magnificent job overnight” Sadly the elation was short-lived. 

Just after midnight, early in the morning on 22 October the Cloughs reached their lowest point in the race, as Steven explained, “there was a heck of a bang, it was night time and it took us a little while to work out that one of the jumpers [supporting the mast] had gone. We thought through the options and decided continue as gently as we could. We had time and were determined to finish this race. We think we were fortunate that we were never on starboard tack.” 

“There were only two of us, we were hand-steering and the rig was in trouble. Once we dismissed the idea of retiring we started thinking about right sail plan. We triple reefed the main and put up the storm jib for a while.” 

Michael explained how they believed if they could make sure that pressure on the mast was limited to below the lower set of spreaders the mast would survive. Keeping boat speed beneath 4-knots would seem an anathema to a racing crew, but this was about protecting the rig and completing the remaining 100 nautical miles of the race. The de-powering reached the ultimate on the last stretch from Comino Channel. “Bare poles and over five knots of boat speed for over three-quarters of an hour. I’ve never done that before!” laughed Steven. “The key to making it was reigning ourselves in. We were both in race mode by now and had to keep telling each other to back off.” 

Both crews were relieved to reach the finish. Unsurprisingly, Cymba did so twelve hours ahead of Cambo III. It was a cracking race between the pair, certainly until Lampedusa, and one that has enthralled those watching on shore as much as the battles towards the front of the fleet. Steven Clough who is facing tougher battles in his life summed up the adventure, “it’s been emotional, it’s been tough, but it’s been rewarding.” Tomorrow the Cloughs will be awarded the trophy as winners of the double-handed division. That there was some luck on their part and some misfortune on the part of others is true. Unquestionably, though, they are worthy. 

69 yachts representing twenty nations started the race. 

George David’s Rambler (USA) established the current Course Record of 47 hours 55 minutes and 3 seconds in 2007. 

The prize giving will be held at the Sacra Infermeria, in the Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta, on Saturday, 24 October. 

For more information about the Rolex Middle Sea Race 2009 including the entry list, position reports and results please visit www.rolexmiddlesearace.com

To receive daily reports and to download high-resolution images, copyright free for editorial purposes, register online at www.regattanews.com

For information about the Organisers, contact: 

Royal Malta Yacht Club 

T. +356 2133 3109
F. +356 2133 1131
E. info@rmyc.org
W. www.rolexmiddlesearace.com

It was an intense race with lots of winds that helped S/Y Leopard nearly break the RMSR record. The time they needed to break the record was just 34 minutes and 30 seconds, but who knows, maybe next year?

Let’s see what the crew on Leopard and other boats have got to say about their experience in the open sea where winds are not so merciful …

Zane : Crew member on S/Y Leopard

“Would have been great to break the record, especially it being one of the three greatest races”, is what crew member Zane said on S/Y Leopard when I went to interview him about the race.

This was also the first MSR for Zane and he agreed that the crew were all in sync and the race was good crew training. Thankfully nothing broke for them during the race (unlike other boats, which we are going to be finding out soon enough about) and they made it here safely and in time to celebrate!

Paolo : Owner/Skipper on S/Y Shambala

“Grand Harbour Marina is a beautiful place to start from…” Having said that, the strong Shambala encountered many problems which including one of their main sails needing immediate repair. Thank God for that Rolex stickers!! They used them to repair the sail and it worked great for them…as they say, times of needs call for desperate measures!

The enthusiastic owner mentioned they despite the fact that they encountered 8 thunderstorms in 24 hrs along with 4m waves, they still wish to do the MSR next year!

Other than that the crew were pretty happy with the way things turned out and were also comfortable stopping what they were doing to give me a good pose..

Simon : Skipper on S/Y Nadejda

“It was very windy at times but that’s what made it faster!” is what Simon said when we first started talking about his views on the race. Full of life, him and his crew were enthusiastic about the race even after they finished the race. Their expectations were very much met, which was great to hear after all the effort put in…

Despite the positive things Simon said, he also mentioned that they experienced a 12 hour dead zone around Panteleria which I can guarantee no one would want to go through especially with time pressing down…

Just like any other enthusiast Simon plans on coming next year with more experience and ready to take on the race…

Richard Muller : Owner/Skipper on Trimaran Silver Chiller

Unfortunately not everyone enjoyed the MSR as Owner/Skipper Richard described the race to being very cruel on his trimaran. Some parts broke and the winds were too strong. There were only four people to control it (which was quite brave) and they found a lot of problems on the way.

This was when they decided to call it quits. This is their second time in MSR and they are not planning on doing it next year.

“The very best sailors can finish this race..”

Picture of Richard Muller himself which was taken today whilst interviewing a couple of MSR entrants…

Mark : Skipper on S/Y DSK

Just like any sailor at heart Mark was dedicated and found the race rather challenging. Even they encountered problems, such as the generator actually jumping out of its location! The mass moved and a main mechanical piece of the generator broke too… But as Mark says “It’s a good test for the boat and once its repaired it will only be stronger for the next time…”

“It would be interesting if the MSR would have started the other way around…. I think it would be good if we had a choice…” is what he said, which was quite an interesting point actually…

Keep the ideas coming

Tony : Skipper on M/Y Areti II

Tony was not in the MSR but we love him so much we just had to put him in here as well … Tony’s views about what went on in the Marina during the MSR were very positive.

Even though he hasn’t sailed for a long time… you can see his views below

“Yeah, I’ll race… I haven’t done it in a while but I’m up for it..”

“Atmosphere was good…”

“Nice racers..”

AND he might actually be interested in next year..

Mike Reardon : Owner on S/Y Ericsson (which is now E1)

It was great speaking to Mark and knowing that not only did he have a fantastic time during the race but he does plan on coming back next year… Like other entrants, they did break somethings but “for a 600 mile race, thats nothing!”…

From Left to right is two of his crew and Mr Reardon himself.

“The more wind the better for us!”

As Mike put it “It’s a challenging race and that’s why we come..”

 Peter : Skipper on S/Y Big One

Like a couple of other skippers, this was not Peter’s first MSR. Unfortunately he doesn’t know whether he will be doing this again next year!! but let’s hope he changes his mind ..

Peter described the weather during the race as interesting because “You will find every type of weather condition you can imagine”…

Lorenzo : Crew on S/Y Calipso

Lorenzo who was exhausted after a couple of days sailing explained to me how great it is to be out there! He said it was dull of change and lots of wind..Really Exciting! The crew were all commited and the results : Very Satisfied.

To the left, there is Lorenzo when he said “We missed 1st place by 8 mins”..Ooouucchh that must have been very close..But nontheless they want to come back next year with more amo..

So it is the morning of the 21st. Weather is fine; clear blue skies with the occasional white cloud high up. The Double Handers are still there and will have had a hard time last night with the wind shifting southwards and working at 20knots so to my estimate coming shy of 30 apparent. They are working towards Lampedusa so still have a slog to get round that part of the course.  However, for the rest of the fleet;  today the boats are on the leg home and with the wind shifting astern are moving along at a fair speed. most of the fleet still out there must be looking at 9 knots boat speed. Glorious sailing.
Here in the marina the rock stars are packing up and preparing the boats for shipping to the other side of the world. Yes thats right ….up next on their calendar; the Rolex Sydney Hobart.
Rose bud is in – she was dismasted but will be back in the fray in short time.
We will be amongst the crews today and serve up some of their comments and views on this blog

Andres Soriano’s Alegre (GBR) looks impregnable in first place as day four draws to a close. It will take a miracle for anyone on the course to finish inside the time set by the 69-foot Mills design. By 18.30 Tuesday evening, eleven boats had completed the 606 nautical mile course, with Nikata(GBR) crossing the finish line just after five pm, followed by Nadejda (RUS) andCalipso 4 (ITA) as the sun set over Valletta.

I came across this in the local press about one category of Racers so I have put it in here as two of the boats are still in it and deserve support- (dont worry Sean I checked with Giles) – The Maltese entry was doing fantastically well but on rounding stromboli were hit by squall after squall and were starting to break equipment so pulled out. Here though is the double handers :

The Rolex Middle Sea Race has attracted its share of characters over the years and more often than not in the double-handed division.

This year is no exception and there are a number of crews embarking on the short-handed challenge including monohulls Cambo III (GBR), Cymba (ITA) and Nemesis CredalTrust (MLT), and, multihulls High Q1 (GER) and Silver Chiller (GER).

Sailing 606 nautical miles fully crewed is a physical endeavour.

Sailing the same distance with just two onboard is just as much a mental one. Invariably, the boats tend to be among the smallest in the fleet, so they would already be at sea the longest even if fully crewed.

Two of the monohulls mentioned are racing the course double-handed for the first time.

Mark Schranz and Isaac Borg, the Maltese co-skippers of Nemesis, are on a rite of passage.

Among the more macho of the Maltese yacht-racers, there seems to be a view that you have not done the Rolex MSR properly until you have done it this way.

“This has always been an ambition for me,” says Schranz.

“I’ve often been told it is something you must do. It is a challenge, but one I am looking forward to.”

Schranz has done the race three times and Borg six times so both have some experience to draw on.

Nemesis is the biggest of the double-handers at 50-feet.

“She is bigger than we are used to racing,” Schranz remarked.

“My other MSRs have been on a 35-footer. We are happy though, because she is solid and perfectly set up for this race. Safety is a priority for us.”

Schranz expects it to be strenuous, but believes mental preparation will be more important than physical.

“I am very comfortable sailing with Isaac, we have known each other for 15 to 20 years. I am not so sure about the solitude of being on watch alone. I have taken the opportunity to discuss this with some of the other Maltese that have done the race this way such as Darius Godwin, Ben Stuart, John Dougall and Anthony Camilleri. This has been very useful.”

Cambo III is also on a rite of passage, but of a very different nature.

Michael and Steven Clough are cousins. Both aged over 60, their cumulative age is alarming for a two-handed entrant. When you add in Steven is battling cancer and is a diabetic, the enormity of the challenge ahead appears exceptional… until you speak to them.

Both Cloughs are quietly spoken and display considerable level-headedness about the race ahead.

“I was aware of Steve’s health problems,” explains Michael, “and when he told me he was planning to bring his boat here, I thought it would be fitting as cousins that we do this race together… double-handed.”

“We realise we’ve bitten off a big chunk here,” continues Michael, an International Juror on the grand prix sailing circuit.

“We’re both over 60, she’s a small boat and it’s a tough race, it can be a very tough race.”

Steven Clough is undoubtedly a lesson in the power of positive thinking.

“I’m thoroughly looking forward to the race, although with a degree of trepidation,” he remarks.

“I’m feeling very healthy, and positive as well. Focusing on the race ahead has helped push my other problems to the background.

“The challenge of the race is something else. I’ve never done anything more than a couple of short races double-handed. But we’ve sailed together a fair bit, worked each other out and Mike’s worked out the boat, so we’re prepared.”

Getting to the start line of a race such as the Rolex Middle Sea Race has often been described as a victory in itself. To cross the start line with just two on the boat takes that achievement one step further and the biggest cheers at the finish are always reserved for the double-handers.

ICAP Leopard lead the fleet along the course past palermo and then turned a good head of speed – 20knts – to Pantelleria.
“After Stromboli was tough,” commented Slade upon his return. “We had 5 or 6 hours of real weather front. We’re a big strong boat and can cope with it. In fact we were hoping to get more of the same at the bottom of the course.” This hope never fully materialised, as he went on to explain. “It took 12 hours to get across to the Egadi Islands and it was only then on the way down to Pantelleria that we started putting on some real boat speed. It was bump, bang, everyone hold on. We would have liked it to carry on down to Lampedusa, but it just didn’t happen. There was no wind there of any consequence.” At this point Leopard was only 75-minutes off Rambler’s blistering pace. Munching the miles to Comino was something this boat was born to do. But she needs wind. Slade had said before the start that 20 knots of wind and flat water would be ideal. What he got for the final long leg was sloppy water and soft winds bouncing between 12 and 18 knots.
She came in 30 minutes outside the course record!
Meanwhile the fleet had lost around 15 of its entrants. Leopard’s arrival was followed by that of Beau Geste.
With two boats tied up in the harbour we had a yacht race on. When Beau Gestecrossed the line at 15.28 she moved into pole position on handicap. Her moment in the spotlight was short lived. Alegre (GBR) finished at 18.33 and moved back into a lead that she has held since Stromboli. Neither Rán (GBR) nor Luna Rossa (ITA) were in a position to dislodge her when they finished. Intermatica VO70 (ITA) won the battle of the two Volvo boats, beating Ericsson (SWE) on handicap although not on the water.
At this time the bulk of the fleet is still racing. 23 yachts have now retired citing various reasons, mostly sail and equipment damage resulting from the vicious squalls that persisted until midday on the 19th. The fleet is currently strung out down past Pantelleria and Lampedusa.
The two remaining double-handers are near Favignana on the northwestern point of Sicily. The winds have lightened up considerably.

It has been a busy couple of days for the crew in the marina.and time to catch up on events since the last blog.
After a spectacular yet benign start to the race the fleet was soon in the thick of it. The weather provided no let up all the way to stromboli. ICAP Leopard looked hot against its invisible adversary in breaking the course record. the whole fleet faced exciting times through that leg. Reports from Arthur Podesta’s Elusive demonstrated the testing conditions out there with the yacht being flattened by gusts up to 40 knots through the night and the course already claiming its first victims.
It was around stromboli with a fresh westerly, a tough sea along with squalls that yachts started falling away. The most notable being Rosebud. As I understand it through mast damage. OK thats it for now. Am off outside as things are busy here.

No words can describe the nervous morning and excitement building until at 10 30 all boats untied from their berths and sailed down the Fairway to the Grand Harbour.

To the start line

The Marina Staff always loyal to the cause could think of no better way then to accompany the racing boats to the start line and watch the beauties go out of the harbour from the rib.

Right to left: Jackie, Jody, Andy, Josef & Davinia

Upper Barraca and Cannon shots

Andy (GHM Berthing Master ) had to save the day and untie the Beau Geste from the buoy but we recovered the deary to see the start better.

Andy saves the day...... Again!

The day before  the big Race and every one is feeling the pressure – Maybe not the Scaira crew pictured here who arrived during the night and missed the party.

Scaira crew

The Larger boats are all busily making sure they are prepared for anything during the 2-3 days ahead. This will prove imposible in any MSR, known for its surprises. The Leopard 3 crew all seemed looking forward to get off the boat and out of the Marina, for what I thought would be a good nights rest- WRONG. According to Mark Thomas – Australia s Junior Skate board champion in 1986 ,’ Every Day is a Party .. and today is no exception’.  During a short visit aboard the Leopard 3 , I learnt why the boat is predicted to do so well by every body. She was launched in May 2007 and since then it has not only placed but beaten records in major races like : The Fast Net 2009, Round Island UK 2007, Fast Net 2007 ( beaten record by 10 hours), South Atlantic  Salvador in 10 days and a 2 year running Caribbean600 Record. Impressive… Unfortunately with no ladies on crew no chatting on juicy details took place.

Leopard 3.. Record Muncher

During an event like this one it is not just the boats that shine but also the characters around them. Maltese, young and upcoming sailing star Sebastian Ripard comes from a long line of sailing enthusiasts on Malta. Enough to say that his grand father John Ripard was the first Maltese to take the MSR trophy in 1968. The Ripard family are symbioticwith the Maltese yachting scene and 23 year old Sebastian will make the legacy proud . A recent graduate in History & Philosophy, Sebastian works hard to introduce Malta for Olympic standard dinghy campaign. In the remaining time he races with different crews in international races at every opportunity. As a Maltese national his sportsmanship is in  disadvantage, mostly because of the lack of possibilities and support available for amatures to  turn professional. This will be the 7th MSR for Sebastian and he will be on board the Calipso4. He remembers fondly his first MSR on a J109 in 2002, but holds a most vivid memory when in 2007 his boat had to retire because of extreme weather conditions. Sebastian’ s blooming sailing career is a prime example of Malta s flourishing professional yachting industry . They grow together to raise Malta to an internationally acclaimed yachting destination .