ROLEX Middle Sea Race “Drift-athon” Report

ByStuart Johnstone

Rolex Middle Sea Race start

(Gzira, Malta)- The profile and reputation of the Rolex Middle Sea Race, organized by the Royal Malta Yacht Club (RMYC), has risen continuously since it was first held in 1968. Today, it habitually draws a diverse fleet of more than 100 yachts from close to 30 countries, including cutting-edge MOD 70 multihulls. For many sailors around the world, it has become a “bucket list” event in the annual yachting calendar. Rolex’s partnership with the event and its organizers stretches back to 2002.   

J/99 sailing past Sicily, Italy

The J/99 CALYPSO drifting past Sicily, Italy in the Straits of Messina

The 606-nautical mile (1,122 kilometers) race course is both beautiful and challenging. Rumbling volcanoes, wild islands, and seas imbued with legend are just a few of the highlights. The geography encountered along the way places significant demands on the crews. At each corner of the course, wind and sea conditions can change dramatically. In an instant, flat calm waters can become giant swells, gentle breezes transform into punishing gusts, and vice versa. 

J/109 Jarhead sailing Rolex Middle Sea Race

This year’s weather forecast?? No one wanted to hear it. And, in fact, many dreaded it… in short, the same weather that had been bedeviling the J/70 World Championship in Monaco the past week was slowly, ever so slowly, blanketing the middle to eastern Mediterranean Sea as well. Basically, a big, wide, flat pancake of a High-pressure system with near-zero isobars spread widely over hundreds of miles, e.g. the prognosis was “no wind”, or very little of it.

afternoon view off Pantelleria Island

October 27th- 1600 hours- webcam off Pantelleria Island (a mark of the course)- any wind in sight??

So far, in five days of racing (the start was on Saturday, October 22nd), Seb Ripard’s J/99 CALYPSO and a pair of J/109s (both Jarhead Sailing Youth Teams) are barely past the halfway point of the race, around a 3.5 kts average so far… ugh!! The J/122 dropped out, as did over 60% of the fleet so far… that’s the most significant attrition rate in the history of the race, so far. For many boats, getting low on water and food was cited as a significant safety issue. For more ROLEX Middle Sea Race sailing information