| Comino casino and the
hometown heros. |
| By the Rolex Middle
Sea Race Media Team. |
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| Photos by Kurt Arrigo
for Rolex, edited By Peter Andrews. |
| October 26, 2011. |
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| Over the night and into this morning, a dozen boats crossed the finish line in Marsamxett Harbour for the 2011 Rolex Middle Sea Race, after struggling on the ten-mile leg from Comino to the finish. The breeze had been solid on the leg from Lampedusa, and then drops off dramatically as yachts reach the Maltese archipelago, making for a tactically challenging last ten miles, for crews bent on getting to shore for a good meal and hot shower. |
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Edoardo Ziccarelli's Cori 53 Moon Shine (ITA), during the Rolex Middle
Sea Race 2011.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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The 606-nautical mile race has had its share of plenty of wind, as well as a few ‘parking lots’ of extremely light conditions which requires all crew, not just the tactician and navigator, to be vigilant about their positioning on their boat and spotting breeze on the water.
The bigger boats such as Esimit Europa 2 (SLO), managed to get around the course with the breeze as did Rán (GBR), Alegre (GBR) and Med Spirit (FRA), which arrived yesterday. But after dark, the wind went light and remained so through to today.
Niklas Zennström’s Rán (GBR) has a Class 1 win locked up, but their current status as overall handicap leader may be temporary. For now they can only sit and wait to see if any other contenders can top her on the leader board. According to rounding times at Lampedusa, that would be down to the Corby 36 AOC Rockall (GER) and local Maltese J/122 Artie co-skippered by Lee Satariano and Christian Ripard.
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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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Artie at noon was 23 nautical miles from the finish, making 6.5 knots and must cross by 18:28 tonight. Rockall was 33 nautical miles away, making 6.5 knots and would need to finish by 20:41. While both finishes are mathematically possible, it depends upon the wind holding on and especially for this race edition, the weather has been anything but dependable. Alexis De Cenival, main trimmer on board the Marten 49 Speedy (GER), described various weather conditions over the course of the race.
“We stopped for six hours around Stromboli with no wind, and after we had big clouds and 25 knots. It was a tricky race. The weather was not what was expected at all. The forecasts we had before the race were all wrong, so we had to figure it out during the race. The weather was mostly light and you needed to be on deck to try to find the wind. We were on the wind for 120 miles and you need all the crew on the rail to get the weight. So we didn’t sleep much, we tried to do a watch system, but you really need the weight outside. You can see point-three of a knot faster when you have the guys on the rail.” |
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Christopher Opielok's Corby 36 AOC Rockall (GER), during the Rolex Middle
Sea Race 2011.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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“It was very light from between the islands (Comino and Malta) to here with big waves against the wind, so it was difficult,” continued De Cenival. “It took us 45 minutes to get the last half-mile, so there was a little tension on the deck this morning.”
The first Maltese boat (defined as a boat having a Maltese resident as skipper and the majority of the crew being Maltese) is expected to be in this afternoon, as it currently looks to be a drag race between the J/133 Oiltanking Juno and Artie. |
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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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Apart from the Russian entry, the 43-foot Skipperclub which is currently off San Vito lo Capo, the last of the fleet has reached Pantelleria with 190 nautical miles to sail to the finish at midday.
Finally after racing over 600 miles, the J/122 Artie crossed the finish line at 15:22 CEST, eight minutes in front of Jaru Team EC, a J/133 and in doing so, was the first Maltese boat home. That finish also put the local entry, co-skippered by Lee Satariano and Christian Ripard ahead of Rán (GBR) as overall handicap leader. |
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Lee Satariano and Christian Ripard's J/122 Artie (MLT) approaching the
finish, during the Rolex Middle Sea Race 2011.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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However, the crew of Artie will have to cool their heels on the Royal Malta Yacht Club terrace as they wait to see if any boat still racing might be able to beat them on handicap. A formal announcement of the overall winner will be made tomorrow at 12:00 CEST at the Royal Malta Yacht Club. Owner Lee Satariano was clearly relieved to beat his local rivals home.
“It was very achievable because we worked very hard. The crew has been preparing the boat for the past several months, we even have a new sail wardrobe. Being the first Maltese boat gives us a big satisfaction because the local competition is very, very big.”
As for the possibility of an overall victory, he was more cautious and said: “The competition is growing every year. In the past we’ve had two second place finishes; we hope this third time is even better.”
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Lee Satariano and Christian Ripard onboard Artie (MLT), during the Rolex
Middle Sea Race 2011.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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“It’s a great feeling,” said co-skipper Christian Ripard. “We ended up doing most of the race alongside or crossing tacks with Jaru. It’s nearly a rerun of last year, though this time we managed to beat them. We were sailing the boat as well as we can. We knew if we had the same conditions as the rest of the competition, we’d do well. The boat is going exceptionally well and it’s a very good crew.”
Ripard has done the race many times before, but clearly rates this year’s contest as one of his best.
“This was a very enjoyable one. When you race on a maxi you tend to be on your own. But when you’re with the smaller boats, then you really have a race on. There are different dynamics, you’re crossing tacks with foreign boats, with local boats, it was one of the most enjoyable ones for me.”
As to whether Artie will claim the overall winner’s title, Ripard cautioned: “Don’t count your chickens too early, we’ll wait and see. But I hope so, we did our best.” |
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Andrew Calascione and John Ripard's J/133 JARU (MLT), at the start of the
Rolex Middle Sea Race 2011.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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Chris Opielok’s AOC Rockall (GER) was one boat that seemed to have Artie in their sights. The Corby 36 was well sailed all the way around the course, but their chances seemed tenuous when Opielok called in this afternoon with a report.
“We’re very close to the channel, about a half mile. At the moment we’re in a sort of wind hole and it could be that we’re going to miss it. We think we will be beaten by Rán, Artie and Otra Vez (MLT). But we’re really enjoying ourselves, it’s the first time we’ve raced this race. It’s a huge part of the experience. It was great fun, we’re still battling it out. I can tell you, but I think we’re battling for second.” |
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Christopher Opielok, owner and skipper of AOC Rockall
II, during the Rolex
Middle Sea Race 2011.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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Opielok’s prediction would bear out as the German entry crossed the finish at 17:59 CEST, missing out on catching Artie by less than half an hour.
There are 30 boats still racing, several just north of Lampedusa and the bulk of the fleet on the leg between Lampedusa and the finish. The breeze on the racecourse is currently variable in speed and direction, indicating another challenging night at sea. |
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Pit Finis’ Ker 53 Dralion (MLT), during the Rolex Middle Sea Race
2011.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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| The finish line for the Rolex Middle Sea Race is in Marsamxett Harbour, opposite the Royal Malta Yacht Club in Ta’Xbiex. Marsamxett is the northern of Valletta’s two main harbours, the other is Grand Harbour. Ringed by fortifications, this natural harbour is dedicated more for leisure use with plenty of dockage for recreational and tourist boats. As well as the walled citadel of Valletta to the south, in the middle of the harbour sits the 18 century Fort Manoel, built by the Knights of Malta, under the patronage of Portuguese Grand Master Manoel de Vilhena. The former home of the Royal Malta Yacht Club, the fort is undergoing major restoration work to repair damage sustained during the Second World War. |
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Andres Soriano’s Mills 68 Alegre (GBR) aproaching the finish line,
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, 22 October; to date, only three boats have retired: Pogo 1 (GER), Comanche Raider II Gasan Mamo (MLT) and Ali Raja Bluorange (ITA). Thirtynine boats have finished as of 18:30 CEST.
The course record set in 2007 by George David’s 90-foot Rambler (USA) stands at 47 hours, 55 minutes, 3 seconds, and 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 |
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