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42nd Rolex Middle sea Race won in record time by Comanche
42nd Rolex Middle sea Race won in record time by Comanche
Photo: Alfred Sant Fournier
The 42nd Rolex Middle Sea Race, as per usual, lived up to expectations. 114 yachts started with a south-easterly wind that built up to around 11 knots within the Grand Harbour and more than 15 knots once they were past the outer breakwater.
The stunning bastions of the capital of Valletta, Vittoriosa and Senglea provided the most apt of settings for the fleet and loud, powerful cannon fire signalled the start of the race.
How it started
Photo: Alfred Sant Fournier
Photo: Alfred Sant Fournier
The Multihull class was the first off the start line. Ultim’Emotion (France) and Riccardo Pavoncelli’s Mana (Italy) hit the line at full speed, with a Maserati Multi70 in thr second row and Argo a little further back. It was Mana who was first out of the harbour. The trimaran Minimole (Italy), a Neel 47, was also part of the start. At 14:32 CEST, Maserati reached the shore of Sicily with a 10-minute lead over Mana, as well as Argo.
The final and 7th of the day was reserved for the monohull entrants, and some of the largest at that. The group ranged in size from 52-feet to 140-foot Skorpios. The Swan yacht was taller than the Saluting Battery, from where the Royal Malta Yacht Club race team, which was led by Peter Dimech, the principal race officer.
How it ended
Photo: Kurt Arrigo
This morning, the 100-foot racing maxi Comanche, skippered by Mitch Booth, crossed the finish line of the 2021 Rolex Middle Sea Race at 4:27:50 CEST to take Monohull Line Honours in an elapsed time of 40 hours 17 minutes and 50 seconds.
Comanche broke the previous Monohull race record, taking 7 hours, 37 minutes and 8 seconds off the time set by George David’s 90-foot Rambler in 2007 (47 hours, 55 minutes and 3 seconds).
Comanche was the latest syndicate to complete the distance in record time as on Sunday night, the M0D70 Argo (USA), skippered by Jason Carroll crossed the finish line of the race at 20:39:28 CEST to take Multihill Line Honours in an elapsed time of 33 hours 29 minutes 28 seconds.
In doing so, Argo destroyed the previous multihull record of 56 hours 31 minutes 31 seconds set by Giovanni Soldini’s Maserati Multi70 in 2020, but also the outright race record of 47 hours 55 minutes 3 seconds, set by George David’s 90-feet Rambler, which has stood since 2007.
