The wait is over, and the result has exceeded every expectation. After months of meticulous preparation, a structured and rigorous crew selection process, and a steadfast commitment to ensuring that Malta’s first international offshore racing campaign would be built on the strongest possible foundations, the Malta National Offshore Sailing Team, Viva Malta, has not merely made its long-awaited international debut, it has won it outright.  

Competing aboard the Cookson 50 Viva Malta, the team took to the start line at Riva di Traiano on Saturday, 12 April 2026, for one of the Tyrrhenian Sea’s most celebrated offshore classics, the Roma Per Tutti, and returned with a treble: Line Honours, IRC Overall, and ORC Overall.  

For a team racing together for the first time, the conditions at Roma Per Tutti 2026 were nothing but challenging, and Viva Malta met them head-on. While each crew member brought solid offshore experience, and several had sailed together in previous campaigns, this marked their first outing as a complete unit aboard Viva Malta. 

The race opened with a favourable southerly breeze at the start, which carried the fleet south in strong conditions for much of the early passage. Upwind, the crew faced gusts reaching 38 knots with seas running at 4 to 6 metres — severe conditions that accounted for retirements elsewhere in the fleet. Erring to the side of caution the Maltese crew kept the boat moving and pressed on when others could not. 

Approaching Lipari, the fleet entered a transition zone. The southerly wind gave way to a fresh south-westerly breeze, which Viva Malta rode north in downwind conditions for the return leg to Rome, an exhilarating passage that lasted approximately 20 hours. As the boat neared Rome, conditions changed once again: the final 60 miles brought thunder, lightning, and rain, with a fresh burst of breeze from an unexpected storm. Though far from welcome, the team held their nerve, managed the conditions, and crossed the line first. 

Throughout the race, the crew gelled and grew together as a unit, pushing hard in demanding circumstances and demonstrating precisely the cohesion and competitive spirit that the selection process had set out to build. The result, Line Honours, IRC Overall, and ORC Overall, reflects not just speed, but teamwork, resilience, and seamanship of the highest order. 

Malta Sailing Federation President Michael Mifsud, brimming with pride said that “This is a historic milestone for Maltese sailing, and a statement of intent for what promises to be an ambitious international campaign. The red and white of Malta has crossed the line first. Line Honours, IRC Overall, ORC Overall, on its international debut, Viva Malta has won it all. This is only the beginning” he concluded. 

Viva Malta will be in action again on 8 May in the Bay of Naples at the 71st Regata dei Tre Golfi.