Sailors from nine countries, including returning competitors from Japan, Bulgaria and the Netherlands and, for the first time, four sailors from Turkey’s Galatasaray, are racing at the fourth Yachting Malta BSC International Regatta, hosted by Birżebbuġa Sailing Club from 1st to 4th February. Bulgaria sent the largest foreign contingent, 11 sailors from three clubs.
Thirty sailors warmed up in a three-day clinic led by BSC performance coach Ivan Vasilev, Greece’s Nikitas Checagioglou and Dutch national coach Maarten Treuren. The regatta also has a race management team of international standing: Race Officers Bojan Gale (ILCA) and Miguel Amaral (Optimist), with Amaral selected as a Race Officer for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and jury member Pinar Coskuner Genc, who will be Chief Race Officer in Paris.
Unsettled conditions disrupted the second day. The ILCA fleets completed three races, but shifty winds and two general recalls limited the Optimists to two. After two days, Timmy Vassallo (MYSC) was unbeaten in ILCA 4, ahead of Laidon Buhagiar and Harry Fairbairn. Benjamin Vassallo led ILCA 6 by four points from Lacey Aquilina, with Matthew Debono third, and Shaun Aquilina (BSC) was unbeaten in ILCA 7 ahead of Crispin Peresso and Julian Elwood. In the Optimists, Andrei Zhakov (BSC) led the Seniors, Villams Osipovs the Cadets and Jeremy Decelis the Beginners. All results were provisional, with racing continuing the next day.
The regatta is supported by Yachting Malta, Visit Malta, Kunsill Lokali Birżebbuġa, Veleria 3 Fl, Malta Optimist Academy, RLR Yachting and SportMalta, under the auspices of the Malta Sailing Federation.
