| Breeze on. |
| By the Rolex Middle
Sea Race Media Team. |
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| Photos by Kurt Arrigo
for Rolex, edited By Peter Andrews. |
| 18:00 CEST, October 24, 2011. |
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| On Monday afternoon,
the Rolex Middle Sea Race fleet was experiencing two completely
different weather scenarios. The frontrunners of the fleet that
had earlier rounded the western tip of Sicily were revelling in
a 20 plus knot southeasterly breeze, while for most of the day
the bulk of the fleet sailed slowly in the lee along the north
coast of Sicily in five to ten knots of wind. |
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Niklas Zennström’s 72-foot mini maxi, Rán (GBR), during
the Rolex Middle Sea Race 2011.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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| By 17:30 CEST, the fleet began to experience a situation contrary to the forecast, a reminder again of the tricky and rapidly changeable weather conditions around Sicily. Several squalls swept through and a few boats were caught unawares, left to quickly douse spinnakers and run through sail changes as the wind swung around from southeast to northwest. |
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Guido Paolo Gamucci's Cookson 50 Cippa Lippa (ITA), during the Rolex Middle
Sea Race 2011.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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| Igor Simcic’s Reichel Pugh 100 Esimit Europa 2 (SLO) fully hooked into the solid southeasterly breeze on Sunday night and was off, legging out on Niklas Zennström’s 72-foot mini maxi, Rán (GBR). By 18:00 today, Esimit on the final leg from Lampedusa towards the finish in Malta was making 11 knots in an easterly breeze and had stretched their lead to some 95 nautical miles in front of Rán. Esimit was expecting to cross the finish line off the Royal Malta Yacht Club in Marsamxett Harbour by midnight tonight. |
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Onboard Igor Simcic’s Reichel Pugh 100 Esimit
Europa 2 (SLO), while
training off Valletta, ahead of the start of the Rolex Middle Sea Race
2011.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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From onboard Rán at 14:00 this afternoon, navigator Steve Hayles reported a lumpy sea state down past Trapani, along the west coast of Sicily.
“We’ve been cracked sheets reaching today in up to 25 knots and it’s down to 15 knots now, and I think that trend will continue. We’re going to be upwind in 10 to 13 knots on the way to Lampedusa and beyond that, it’s looking potentially quite a bit lighter on the leg back to Malta. It’s frustrating to have watched Esimit sail away to a bigger lead than we would have liked, but the conditions have suited her. It’s been a bit of a leader’s race. Our aim, leaving the dock, was to focus on what was controllable and to that end, we’ve got to be reasonably happy. We’ve managed to hold or extend on the group behind us and obviously we’re pretty focused on boats like Alegre, who we’ve put back probably 35 miles or so behind us.” |
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Niklas Zennström’s JV72, Rán (GBR), during the Rolex
Middle Sea Race 2011.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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| Behind Rán were Laurent Pellecuer and Oscar Kouyukhov’s 90-footer Med Spirit (FRA), and Andres Soriano’s Mills 68 Alegre (GBR), both approaching Pantelleria about 15 nautical miles out. The rest of the fleet was stretched out from the Egadi Islands and north around to Palermo. |
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Andres Soriano’s Mills 68 Alegre (GBR), passing Favignana, during
the Rolex Middle Sea Race 2011.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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| ORC Class 1 competitors Ägyd Pengg’s VO70 E1 (AUT), the Hungarian Reichel Pugh 60 Wild Joe (HUN), and Marco Rodolfi’s Swan 80 Bernice Bis (ITA) were the next to reach the corner at the Egadis. At 17:00, Berenice Bis with all crew on the rail was approaching Favignana. They were in a 14 knot easterly breeze as a rain squall came though, gusting up to 20 knots, before it shifted southeast without any loss of speed. IRC Class 2 leaders the Swan 82 Nikata skikkered by Matt Hardy (GBR and also racing in ORC Class 1), Pit Finis’ KER53 Dralion (MLT), and Germana Tognella’s Cookson 50 Cantankerous (ITA) followed. |
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Ägyd Pengg’s VO70 E1 (AUT), during the Rolex Middle Sea Race 2011.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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On Jeroen van Dooren’s Swan 66 Lot 66 (NED), skipper Andrew Duff reported that the crew were in good spirits, pushing the boat as hard as they can. The Dutch boat reported the same squally conditions as the other boats in the area.
“We seem to be catching a few boats up, but then they get away from us. We’re 40 miles from Favignana and hoping to get around before midnight,” said Duff. |
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Marco Rodolfi’s Swan 80 Bernice Bis (ITA), during the Rolex Middle
Sea Race 2011.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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Vikesha II (MLT), co-skippered by Russian Oleg Evdokimenko and Maltese Timmy Camilleri, with Jochem Visser as tactician, is currently leading Class 3. Evdokimenko is a Dragon sailor and his crew includes other Russian Dragon, TP52, and Olympic sailors. Camilleri also knows this race well, having won overall in it three times.
Leading Class 4 are two J/122s from the Maltese fleet: the Lee Satariano and Christian Ripard co-skippered Artie, and Otra Vez, co-skippered by brothers Aaron and Edward Gatt Floridia. As Ripard said presciently before the race start, “It’s not a long passage race, you have a lot of corners, a lot of changing winds when you go around a corner. You get becalmed, you run away. You get becalmed, they catch you up, it really keeps you on your toes the whole way around. That’s why it’s so much fun, but it’s so hard doing it.” |
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Germana Tognella’s Cookson 50 Cantankerous (ITA), during the Rolex
Middle Sea Race 2011.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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| Ian Knight and Beppe Bisotto are double-handers racing on the Fast 42 Atame (GBR). Bisotto enjoying his solitary watch reported: “Ian Knight is sleeping; he deserves a full night after a fast leg to Stromboli. I am back again admiring Stromboli by night, it has become a regular habit. Every year sailing keeping it port side, puffs of incandescent ashes and smokes. Lou Reed on the player and streams of thinking, not only about sailing. This you can do if racing double-handed, with a crew there is little time for yourself.” |
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Hans Jurgen Riegel's Marten 49 Speedy (GER), during the Rolex Middle Sea
Race 2011.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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| The Italian island of Pantelleria is another major turning mark in the race back to Malta and lies 100 kilometres (62 miles) southwest of Sicily and only 60 kilometres (37 miles) east of the Tunisian coast. The island has an area of 83 square kilometres, and a population of around 3,000 people. Despite being volcanic, Pantelleria is surprisingly fertile. With many beaches and sea caves to explore for travellers to the island, not to be missed is the Montagna Grand (836 metres), the highest point on the island. |
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Edoardo Ziccarelli's Cori 53 Moonshine (ITA), during the Rolex Middle Sea
Race 2011.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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A total of 70 yachts started the 32nd Rolex Middle Sea Race on Saturday October 22 and only one boat has retired, the Class 40 Pogo 1 (GER). The course record set in 2007 by George David’s 90-foot Rambler (USA), stands at 47 hours, 55 minutes, 3 seconds. The final prize giving is at 12:00 CEST on Saturday October 29 at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta.
For further information about the Rolex Middle Sea Race, go to: www.rolexmiddlesearace.com. |
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| Outimage and Rolex © 2011 |
