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| Contributors
to outimage.net |
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| Carlo Borlenghi |
| Stefano Gattini |
| Bruno Cocozza |
| Guido Trombetta |
| Luca Buttò |
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| Michael
McCoy |
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| Kurt Arrigo |
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| Peter
Andrews |
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Previous
Yachting & Boating Events |
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| Monaco Classic
Week, Montecarlo Sept 14-18, 2011. Photos by Carlo Borlenghi. |
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| Extreme Sailing
Series 2011, Trapani, Italy September 14-18. Photos by Stefano
Gattini for Studio Borlenghi. |
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| America's Cup
World Series, Plymouth, UK, Sept 10-18. Photos by Morris
Adant. |
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| Rolex Big Boat
Series 2011, San Francisco, California USA, Sept 8-11. Photos
by Daniel Forster for Rolex. |
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| Maxi Yacht Rolex
Cup 2011, Porto Cervo, Italy. Photos by Carlo Borlenghi for
Rolex. |
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| The Perini Navi
Cup 2011, Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy. Photos by Carlo Borlenghi
and Stefano Gattini. |
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| Steiner X-Yachts
Mediterranean Cup, Marina di Scarlino, Italy, 2011. Photos
by Francesco Ferri and Guido Trombetta for Studio Borlenghi. |
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| Audi MedCup Circuit
2011, Cartagena, Spain. Photos by Stefano Gattini and Guido
Trombetta for Studio Borlenghi. |
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| Rolex Fastnet
Race 2011, Cowes - Plymouth, UK. Photos by Carlo Borlenghi. |
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Rolex Fastnet
Race 2011, Cowes - Plymouth, UK.
Edited by Peter Andrews. |
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| America's Cup
World Series, Cascais, Portugal 2011. Photos by Morris Adant. |
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Extreme
Sailing Series Act 5 Cowes, UK, August 6-12, 2011. Edited
by Peter Andrews. |
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| The 30th Copa
del Rey Audi Mapfre 2011, Palma Majorca, Spain. Photos by
Kurt Arrigo. |
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| Audi MedCup Circuit
2011, Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy, Photos by Stefano Gattini
and Guido Trombetta for Studio Borlenghi. |
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| Audi Sydney Gold
Coast 2011. Photos by Peter Andrews. |
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Extreme
Sailing Series Act 4, Boston, USA, June 29 - July 4, 2011.
Edited by Peter Andrews. |
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Rolex Baltic
Week 2011, Flensburg, Germany
Photos by Daniel Forster. |
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| Giraglia Rolex
Cup 2011, Saint-Tropez, France, June 18-25. Photos by Carlo
Borlenghi. |
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| Loro Piana Superyacht
Regatta, Porto Cervo 2011. By Carlo Borlenghi and Guido Trombetta. |
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| Extreme Sailing
Series Istanbul, Turkey, May 25-29, 2011. Photos by Stefano
Gattini for Studio Borlenghi. |
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Extreme
Sailing Series Act 3, Istanbul, Turkey, May 25-29, 2011.
Edited by Peter Andrews. |
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Rolex Capri Sailing
Week
Rolex Volcano Race
Capri, Italy, May 24-28, 2011.
Edited by Peter Andrews. |
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The German 18
Foot Skiff Tour Round 1, May 22, 2011.
Edited by Peter Andrews. |
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The Australian
18 Footer
3-Buoys Challenge Series, Sydney, May 15, 2011.
Edited by Peter Andrews. |
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| 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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| Previous
Articles. |
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| Comino casino and the hometown heros - Valletta, Malta, October 26, 2011. |
| Keeping your wits - Valletta, Malta, October 25, 2011. |
| First boat home - Valletta, Malta, October 25, 2011. |
| Breeze on - Valletta, Malta, 18:00 CEST October 24, 2011. |
| Halfway around - Valletta, Malta, October 24, 2011. |
| Make or break
- Valletta, Malta, 18:00 CEST October 23, 2011. |
| Break
on through to the other side - Valletta, Malta, 10:00
CEST October 23, 2011. |
| Clean
away, Valletta, Malta, October 22, 2011. |
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| Scuttlebutt Europe Daily News Feed. |
| Produced by boats.com Europe, Scuttlebutt Europe is a digest of sailing news and opinion, regatta results, new boat and gear information and letters from sailors. |
| To the Scuttlebutt Europe Daily News Feed Page. |
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