Epic chronicles from the Rolex Middle Sea Race of the storm

We will remember this Rolex Middle Sea Race for a long time(first in real Scallywag, the 100-footer of Hong Kong’s Seng Huang Lee, winner overall barring surprises Carl Peter Forster’s German Tp52 Red Bandit).

The Rolex Middle Sea Race of the Storm

A thunderstorm front, or rather a “downburst,” grooves with vertical wind gusts from all directions, swept over the fleet on the first evening of racing, with reported peaks of up to 70 knots, causing 34 retirements (out of 93 participants), breakdowns, and helping to make the Middle Sea Race 2024(606 miles starting in Malta and circumnavigating Sicily by sailing up the east coast of the island, passing the Straits, then rounding Stromboli, Favignana, Pantelleria and Lampedusa and returning to Malta) memorable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA0kyx_bAVI We will soon tell you about many great little adventures of this Rolex Middle Sea Race. In the meantime, a nice appetizer is provided to us by journalist James Boyd, who has collected the best stories from the world of Maxi yachts, great protagonists in this “brutal” edition.

Maxi participants in this year’s Rolex Middle Sea Race were able to use their full sets of sails. On the first night, competitors were hit by a violent storm that brought gusts of more than 60 knots. Twenty-four hours later it was flat calm.

Illustrious victim

The conditions on the first night took their toll on the fleet, with much sail damage and several dismastings. Further east, the leading maxis reached 40-45 knots and this resulted in two “illustrious victims,” including the reigning race champion, Andrea Recordati’s Wally 93 Bullitt.

After the frantic departure from Valletta’s Grand Harbour, leaving Malta in difficult weather conditions had already cost Bullitt a spinnaker. Then, as tactician Joca Signorini explained, “We, damaged the jib and mainsail and some stanchions, so we decided it was better to turn back.”

Italian solidarity

In IRC 2, Luigi Sala’s Vismara 62 Yoru saw more than 60 knots and three whirlwinds. “We saw the storm coming from the north and we lowered all the sails,” said Claudio Valessi, Yoru’s main trimmer.

“It hit many boats and many of them retreated. Fortunately, all the members of our boat are fine “. For two hours, the Italian team valiantly stood by their compatriots in Gregor Stimpfl’s Scuderia 65 Hagar V after the dismasting. Unfortunately, Yoru herself had a hydraulic problem that forced her to retire.

Duel in a storm

Up front, the 100-foot Maxis – Remon Vos’ Black Jack 100 and Seng Huang Lee’s Scallywag 100 – were making progress. “We saw 40 knots and 35 sustained, which for a 100-footer is enough,” commented Scallywag skipper David Witt. During this period of high winds, the middle part of their asymmetrical A3 was destroyed on the furling.

Meanwhile Black Jack, staying to the west, had built up a solid lead entering the Strait of Messina. During the gale they tackled 42 knots of wind with three hands of reefing and and the J4 jib, reaching 30 knots of speed on the slack. “It was beautiful. At night there were thunderstorms, everything – Mother Nature was expressing herself! ” commented skipper Tristan le Brun.

Lottery Tie

But in the Strait, due to high tide, they were joined by pursuers, including the fast 72-footer Balthasar. Leaving the Strait at 03:30 Sunday morning, the front runners took off again. Still staying west, Black Jack took the lead and tacked first west to pass Stromboli at 07:00. The wind died down as it passed northern Sicily.

Bryon Ehrhart’s Lucky (ex-Rambler 88) was briefly in the lead after edging south; the four then tacked north in search of pressure. Here Balthasar fell behind. Tactician Bouwe Bekking explained, “They were two miles ahead and had the breeze and we were stuck.” Aboard have a man was hoisted up the mast, “old fashioned,” to spot the wind. As the sun set, the front runners ran aground, while Balthasar found the breeze and closed the gap. During the night Scallywag made steady progress, leading Black Jack past the treacherous headlands west of Palermo, 18 miles ahead of Lucky and Balthasar. Approaching Favignana, he found pressure to the west to take him south of Pantelleria, but here Black Jack did well to the east, while Lucky and Balthasar, locked in combat, closed from behind with pressure.

How Scallywag won in real the Middle

At 01:00 Tuesday Black Jack led to Lampedusa, turning south. Here the different tactics among the 100 decided the outcome of the race. Witt explained, ” I thought we were going to turn, but Juan [Vila, navigator] told me, ‘We’re going into that cloud, it’s going to look terrible, but we’re going to come out the other side and we’ll be 30 degrees up.’ When Juan Vila says that, you do what Juan Vila says. And Black Jack, for the first time in 550 miles, let us go. “. Sure enough, coming out of the cloud the wind turned from northeast to southeast, leaving Scallywag to windward as she passed the Comino Channel. With a fetch wind from starboard, Scallywag crossed the Comino Channel and proceeded upwind until arriving at the entrance to Marsamxett Harbor in Valletta.

The boat took the line victory at 09:43, followed by Black Jack at 10:01.

“It is a great relief for me, the owner and the team after our bad luck in the Rolex Sydney Hobart, when we broke the bowsprit twice,” Witt commented. “To come here for the first time and get this result is fantastic. This is one of the hardest races I have ever done on a 100-footer. I am very proud of the team and navigator Juan Vila: if he had not been on board, we would still be out there…. “.

Lucky enjoyed the return from Lampedusa, which allowed her to get closer to 100 feet. Owner Bryon Ehrhart said they approached Pantelleria, the scene of their dismasting last year, “for a moment.” They saw 47 knots the first night and spent an hour sailing with only two reefers. Tactician Brad Butterworth recalled that: ” It was a little windy and kept growing as the rain came. It lasted longer than we thought it would…. “. Later, Lucky was able to keep up with the slender 100.

Balthasar first in IRC

Balthasar won IRC One and looks capable of placing in the top 10 in IRC Overall. ” The first day was difficult, as it is for most boats,” commented skipper Louis Balcaen, a veteran of two Volvo Ocean Races. ” We had a big storm and then we broke a kite, but otherwise we managed to protect the equipment and sail to Messina in a straight line at 20 knots.”

In light wind conditions it proved to be up to 3-7 knots. “Throughout the stretch north of Sicily we stayed in touch with 100,” Balcaen said.

The triumph of Spirit of Lorina

In IRC Two, Jean-Pierre Barjon’s 65-foot Spirit of Lorina, along with Vismara 80 Luce Guida and Nacira 69, struggled against the 50-footers. Spirit of Lorina had won its class and finished second in IRC Overall in the 2022 Rolex Middle Sea Race, after winning the 2021-22 IMA Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge. During this year’s race he saw 44 knots on the first night and then experienced another gale as he passed Lampedusa on the final night. “It was an epic regatta,” commented a weary Barjon. “But the first night was not kind….” During the regatta Spirit of Lorina used all its sails except the A5. “It was really interesting because we had all the conditions, strong wind, nice weather, Brittany weather!” commented co-skipper Benjamin Epron.

• Rolex Middle Sea Race tracking here