The 47th Rolex Middle Sea Race starts from Grand Harbour on Saturday 17 October, with more than 100 yachts of all sizes lining up for the 606-nautical-mile offshore classic hosted by the Royal Malta Yacht Club. This edition also marks 30 years since the race was revived in 1996, after a 13-year break that followed the 1983 race.
Registration has now closed, and the fleet represents 25 countries, with crew of 47 nationalities. Italy has the most entries and the United Kingdom the most crew members. Alongside a strong European fleet, from Finland to Türkiye, sailors are coming from as far as Australia, New Zealand, Uruguay, Canada and the United States.
Past winners return
Six yachts on the entry list have won the race before. Louis Balcaen’s Maxi 72 Balthasar returns to defend its 2025 title, as the crew promised at last year’s prize giving, while the German TP52 Red Bandit, overall winner in 2024, is also entered, together with Black Jack 100, first to finish last year. French sailor Géry Trentesaux, winner in 2018 with Courrier Recommandé, is back with Courrier Pogo.
From the United States comes the Sun Fast 3300 Red Ruby, which Justin and Christina Wolfe sailed to second overall in 2023, only 24 seconds behind the 93-foot maxi Bullitt. This year they race four-handed instead of two-handed, joined by Jonathan McKee and William “Carl” Buchan, Olympic gold medallists together in the Flying Dutchman class in 1984.
The Maltese fleet
Eleven Maltese yachts will be on the start line: Amuni (Kevin Pisani Zammit), Artie III (Lee Satariano and Christian Ripard), Calypso (Sebastian Ripard and Daniel Calascione), Elusive 2 (Aaron, Christoph and Maya Podesta), Geisha MeDirect (Stefan Debattista), Gozo Dream (Noel Grech), JYS Jan (Gary Mercieca and Jake Mallia), Kixx Me (Luis Azzopardi), Seven (Mario Debono), Ton Ton Laferla Insurance (Jonathan Gambin) and Vivace (Andrew Agius Delicata and Matthew Gabriele).
Two of these crews are previous winners. Aaron, Christoph and Maya Podesta, children of the late Arthur Podesta, took overall honours on Elusive 2 in 2019 and 2020, and 70 per cent of her regular crew return this year, joined by experienced sailors racing with the family for the first time. Lee Satariano won in 2011 and 2014 with an earlier Artie, both times with Christian Ripard as co-skipper, and the pair are together again on Artie III. “This is my passion at the end of the day,” says Satariano, for whom the year of preparation matters as much as the race itself. “I enjoy spending weekends, and even weekdays, at the yard, switching off and working on the boat.”
Christian Ripard reaches a milestone of his own: his 36th race takes him past the record of 35 set by Arthur Podesta. He has won the race twice as skipper, with Bigfoot in 1996, the year of the revival, and in 2001 with Strait Dealer, which took both line honours and the overall win. Strait Dealer is still the only Maltese-crewed yacht to have been first to finish.
For Calypso’s co-owners, Sebastian Ripard and Daniel Calascione, this race is the first since the death in July of their grandfather, John Ripard Sr, one of the race’s co-founders. In her third race, and once again likely the smallest boat in the fleet, Calypso carries five of his six grandchildren: Sebastian and Thomas Ripard, Daniel and Marc Calascione, and Luke Scicluna, with regulars Saul Vassallo and Kris Borg Nicholas completing the crew. The sixth grandchild and longtime crew member, Sam Pizzuto, cannot join them this year. “This will be a poignant year for us,” says Sebastian. “The race is closely linked to the collective memory of our grandfather, and we’ll be competing together on the same boat, confined to all of Calypso’s 30 feet.”
Familiar faces, new boats
Royal Malta Yacht Club Rear Commodore Mario Debono has long stood for the race’s Corinthian spirit. After racing the Sun Odyssey 45 Janissah, he moves to Seven, a Grand Soleil 46 he acquired in Corfu in 2025. Leaving Janissah behind was “actually quite emotional,” he says. “I wasn’t trying to replace Janissah or erase that chapter. I simply felt ready to write another one.”
All being well, this will be Jonathan Gambin’s 19th race on Ton Ton Laferla Insurance. “By now taking part in the Rolex Middle Sea Race has become almost automatic,” he says. “Unless there is a good reason why I cannot, my crew and I expect to be on the start line. After so many editions it has become part of my year, although I never take the race itself for granted, and having a sponsor who stands behind you year after year is something we genuinely appreciate.”
Stefan Debattista returns with Geisha MeDirect and a core crew from several editions, joined by new members with offshore experience of their own. “As usual, I want everyone to have fun and enjoy the whole experience, before, during and after the race,” he says. “Considering our progress over the last few years, I’m hoping we can have a strong race this year.” Andrew Agius Delicata and Matthew Gabriele’s Vivace, winner of the Arthur Podesta Trophy last year as the first Maltese boat in IRC, is back with her core crew after a year of work on her performance. “Preparations are well underway, with continuous work to make the boat better, faster and safer,” says Agius Delicata.
JYS Jan represents the Jarhead Young Sailors’ Foundation. Co-skippers Gary Mercieca and Jake Mallia have five and four Rolex Middle Sea Races behind them, and this is their third race together but their first as skippers, leading a mix of experienced sailors and newcomers. Noel Grech’s Gozo Dream, known to many as the Gozo boat, made her debut in 2023 as the first boat in the race with an all-Gozitan crew. Among the newer entries, Kevin Pisani Zammit, with three editions behind him, races Amuni, a Farr 36 he bought a few months ago, while Kixx Me makes her debut with Luis Azzopardi, in his third race after two on his previous boat, Corona.
“Bringing more than 100 yachts to Malta in the days before the start would not be possible without the support of our marinas,” says Royal Malta Yacht Club Commodore Mark Napier, thanking Grand Harbour Marina, Grand Hotel Excelsior Marina, Marina di Valletta, Gardens Marina, Roland Marina and Manoel Island Marina. “Their cooperation is a large part of what makes Malta such a welcoming host for this race.”
Following the race
The best places to watch the start on Saturday 17 October are the Upper Barrakka Gardens and the waterfronts of Valletta, Senglea and Vittoriosa. The race can be followed live on the Royal Malta Yacht Club and Rolex Middle Sea Race social media channels, with commentary in English, while commentary in Maltese will be broadcast on TVMSport+.
Photo Credit: ©Rolex/Kurt Arrigo
