Sean Borg’s Jubatus made a winning debut at the 64th Malta – Syracuse Offshore Race, finishing first on the water and first on corrected time. Their trophy haul included the RMYC IRC Trophy for the overall IRC winner, the Easy Perfection Trophy for the overall ORC winner, and the RMYC Trophy for the first Maltese boat in IRC.
Hosted by the Royal Malta Yacht Club and the Lega Navale Italiana (Sezione di Siracusa), the 80 nautical mile race alternates its start each year, and this year it finished in Syracuse. Nearly 30 boats started off Tigné Point in light, flaky northerly winds of around six knots.
Jubatus took the lead early, opening a comfortable gap on Andrew Agius Delicata and Matthew Gabriele’s Vivace and Riccardo Schininà’s Donna Rosa 2. The breeze filled near Capo Passero, allowing the front runners to extend, before a wind transition close to the finish slowed Jubatus, though not enough to stop them winning.
“This was Jubatus’ first time racing this course. The usual team was not available, so we joined forces with other sailors. Having a great start and being first off the line hyped us up for the next 19 hours. A crawl to the finish in light winds meant we could not beat the course record, but we will try again next year,” said skipper Sean Borg.
Vivace, raced double-handed, finished second, with Anton Calleja’s L’Artista third. In the cruisers, Kevin Pisani Zammit’s Dimm topped the leaderboard ahead of Mario Debono’s Janissah.
“The Malta – Syracuse Race continues to attract a varied fleet, from veterans like Capitano Corragiosi, winners in 2008, to Jubatus, who made their first appearance and have already left their mark on the race’s history,” said David Cremona, Commodore of the Royal Malta Yacht Club.
Photo Credit: RMYC / Alex Turnbull
