Grand Harbour Marina Blog

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 .

Shambala & Me

Shambala – Owner Paolo,Giacomo, Ambrodgio,Enrico,Tito, Andrea,Roberto & Andrea 2

Food Glorious Food

Max Beasly and the pre cooked frozen Bangers and Mash all through the race

More hilarious Aurora crew. They will be the boat that has most fun.

The night every one was waiting for arrived and everyone was ready to drink,eat and be merry.

Fort St Angelo as a magnificent background, lit up and pumping tunes set the scene for a massive party. Given the start had a bit of standing around but by the time people lined up for their second drink the vibe was warming .

Everyone connected to the Marina was there including agents, Royal Malta Yacht Club members, boat persons and last but not least – The GHM front office ladies out of their white and navy uniforms.

Jackie & Jodie

Richard Kooloos from trimaran HQIT, 2 Beers aka Tobias from Sea Wolf and Nagel Anettea (HQIT)

Unwound Crews

Tatiana,Dave & John from DSK ( Party animals)

Wednesday night turned out to be an unofficial party night for the crews ,so Thursday morning had a groggy start. The major complaint form most Italian crew members was the lack of Brioche and Croissants at the cafes before 10 am.

The Sea Wolf crew celebrated extensively their 3rd place in the Coast Race the day before , her captain beaming about the trophy they will now take home from Malta.

Congrats Sea Wolf on 3rd Place in Coastal Race

Only the Luna Rossa with pure professionalism did not look hung over, even after they placed first. One crew member attributed this to being older but we all like to think that their dedication to the course pays off.

Sail Man Pierre was busy busy but in his usual cheery mood and only had to say the race was ‘Fantastic as every year’. Pierre Valti, a Swiss national that currently resides in Malta, is the founder of  Atlantis sails. He s always a familiar face at MSR and has a helping hand for damaged sails and a beaming smile for any other trouble.

Mr Lou Varney, a previous record holder that now forms part of the  RAN 2 crew, is an English man like most of the other 17 RAN 2 crew. He is the Main Sail Trimmer. The RAN has been launched this year, and it placed in nearly all the races it took part in. Enough to mention First Place in the 2009 Fast Net and Maxi World in Sardinia. Lou is no stranger to Malta as he lived here at the tender age of 7, when his father was a diver situated in North Africa. This practice is still well in place today since Malta is more Westerly inclined then the African states.

A new addition to this year s race are the trimarans. These Multi-hulls are catching up in popularity mainly because of their added stability in high winds. They are not created for racing purposes and are more adaptable for touring as they require fierce winds to perform competitively.

 The Silver Chiller, is one  the 2 trimarans in the race. Its crew of only 3 to 4 persons are Munich based and normally sail in the colder seas of the Adriatic. They would like to see more trimarans in races as it becomes very complicated when they try and compete in the same categories as the larger sailing racers. However the experience is  not tarnished for them and they described the GHM team as effective and professional, always ready with a friendly smile.

There were also 2 new arrivals during the night : The Nix and The Three Sisters.

Three Sisters

With the Marina in full swing with the Race preparations, our Annual Berth Holders are still being given their deserved attention. They too are affected by the excitement and commotion and the team are careful that our usual excellent service does not suffer.

We’ ve spoken to some captains about their feelings on the Race and in solidary sailor fashion they all feel pleased of having their home port host the event. Mr Gustafsson,The Owner/ Captain of Gosi, a 12 m sailing boat, who has been berthed at GHM since we opened, recalled his previous race experiences. He reckons that such races enhance the experience of the marina and are a good opportunity to meet younger sailors with whom his veteran stories can be shared.

The Zefiro, a race standard sailing boat also resides at GHM. We naturally asked why the Zefiro was not interested to compete. Her captain let us in on some of his racing tales and described the experience as pleasurable however not more demanding then a normal cruise, like their upcoming trip to Cyprus. He continues that the weather on a sailing boat is the determining factor, rather then the pace desired to take.

We would like other berth holders to comment on experience when their home marina hosts international events. We ‘re sure there are some interesting stories out there.

Let’s start from apologizing for mis information from yesterday s blog.

The RAN II will be participating in the race and it arrived in all its glory during the night. A terrible misunderstanding occurred between the RAN and RAN2. The RAN being an older and more classical ,1986 wooden sailing boat is not scheduled to race but its stunning successor modeled in black and grey and looking fabulous is ready for action and speed.

Like the RAN2, certain crews arrived during the night and in the early morning resulting in several boats missing the Coastal Race which started at 10:20 am from the Excelsior Hotel in Valletta. Most of the larger boats like the Leopard 3, DSK, Rosebud, Beau Gueste, Alegre and Ericson did not take part in the preliminary race. While in Category 2 for smaller boats the; Aurora, EH01 and Victor One also missed out because of late arriving crews. The Bernice opted out after an accident endured by the Captain to his leg, a trip on a cable which involved a turning over of the passerelle and a grand finale splash in the sea. The Atame retired before the Coastal Race began while the Nsidia and Straight Dealer retired back after they left the harbour.

The finish line at the Royal Malta Yacht Club was crossed first, in a short 2 hours by the Luna Rossa a well celebrated boat that has been doing great in races all over. The ten, Category 1 larger boats, all came in before 3 hours lapsed. This was a bit of a surprise since the course was expected to take between 3 – 4 hours. In Category 2 the Maltese.

Elusive came in with a timing of 3 hours 12 min followed by the Kuka.

Judge Mr. Peter Dimech described the weather during the race as interesting with a few wind shifts that would have put to test the best of skippers. The Tonnerre and Big One sailed a tight race but the STP65 Luna Rossa with its perfect start was the special star of the show.

Today was a perfect day to hound the racing boats at the marina for juicy details and boat stories. Since the ones left at the berths were obviously not competing in the Coastal Race, few could look busy enough to ward me off.

Apart from investigating the accident suffered by the Bernice ‘s captains’ leg, which I found out resulted in a few stitches and a possibility of him being taken off the crew (only for the race), I was told about a blossoming romance on the Legally Brunette. The Irish owner revealed this information trough a Lepricon cheeky smile.

DSK crew

While speaking to the busy looking crew one can be easily fooled, but in reality their most pressing concern is the Crew Party that kicks off at 8pm tomorrow night underneath St Angelo Fort. They all agree that having the Race 2 days later is a wise and realistic decision. They were very interested in the fact that Malta offers a daily clubbing scene in Paceville. Accompanying the DSK crew is Roberta, a Public Relations executive for Rolex s hospitality interests. Roberta is on board the DSK representing Pioneer Investments but she divulged that Rolex are proud to be in such a stunning location and prestigious event like the MSR in Malta.

That is Roberta to the right and myself in GHM uniform.

Ericson crew

The mysterious owner, who cannot as yet be mentioned, will be onboard for the first time tomorrow, and hopefully fall in love with the boat who will return his affection with faring well in the race. The Ericson, although mainly used as a hospitality boat for the ITC company, has won the Volvo Ocean Race in 2005/2006. It has since been in smaller races.

The Luna Rossa is my next mark but as a tease I can tell that the most of the crew are visiting Malta for the first time together with the boat.

Do come back for more gossip or add your own .

Set up for Crew Party.Busy Lunch hourssssssss...

A debate has been taking place at the Grand Harbour Marina on the eve of the 2009 Rolex Middle Sea Race about the best food on board during races. While it is obvious that cooking time is limited and so are supplies, the benefits of pre cooked frozen foods is wide spread. Boats like the Zefiro make sure that freezers are well stocked, while the DSK crew are spoilt with their own chef even during races. The beautiful Tatiana works full time in the galley to provide nourishment for the busy crew. Others are not so fortunate and have to deal with just add water aluminum pouches full of wondrous powdery grub named ’spicy chicken’ or some equally enticing name. Crew members have reported (i quote) “12 days on the pail” ,blaming powdered meals.
Give us your views and experiance on MEALS DURING RACE.