Scallywag Celebrates on Cloud Nine at the 45th Rolex Middle Sea Race
by Rolex Middle Sea Race Media, 22 Oct 11:43 PDT
22 October 2024
Line honors for Scallywag 100 at the 45th Rolex Middle Sea Race © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo
After a sluggish start lasting 48 hours, the Rolex Middle Sea Race burst into activity overnight, as the lead boats caught the refreshing southerly winds blowing from Malta to the Strait of Sicily.
The outcome for the yachts passing by or having passed Favignana yesterday afternoon was finally a steady breeze. For Seng Huang Lee’s Scallywag 100 from Hong Kong, it was precisely what was required to launch the 100-foot (30.48-meter) Maxi to a hard-won Line Honours victory. Crossing the finish line of the 2024 Rolex Middle Sea Race at 09:43:29 CEST on Tuesday morning, the crew’s elapsed time was two days, 21 hours, 33 minutes, and 29 seconds. If only it had been that simple.
As of now, four yachts have completed the race. Black Jack 100 finished second, 18 minutes later. After an intense battle, Remon Vos’ 100-foot entry was ultimately overpowered during the second-to-last leg from Lampedusa to the South Comino Channel. Bryon Ehrhart’s 88-foot (27-meter) Lucky sped through the finish 30 minutes after Black Jack, making a comeback after retiring last year. Balthasar took fourth place, as the Maxi72’s waterline length disadvantage became evident once the larger competitors reached the open water legs, allowing them to sail straight ahead. Balthasar currently leads in IRC 1 following time correction and, for now, stands first overall. The next finishers are anticipated around midnight, adding excitement for those chasing victory.
“I am incredibly proud of the team. This is one of the toughest races I’ve undertaken in a 100-footer,” a visibly relieved David Witt stated shortly after docking at Marsamxett Harbour, the home of the Royal Malta Yacht Club. “We faced 40-knot rain squalls while trying to keep the boat intact and not tip over. There were 90-degree wind shifts and gluts of calm. We had more sail changes than anyone else, and the team made no mistakes.”
Tristan Le Brun, the racing skipper of Black Jack, expressed disappointment but maintained a philosophical outlook in defeat and quickly congratulated the victor. “Congrats to Scallywag; this time it fell in their favor,” he commented. “Scallywag has been very competitive, and we were highly impressed. They entered the race well-prepared; the boat performed excellently, they sailed well, and their sail changes were rapid, combined with skilled navigation, making it challenging for us.”
The two vessels were closely matched for much of the race, with various splits throughout the course:
Capo Passero: Black Jack by 14 minutes; Messina: Black Jack by 58 minutes; Stromboli: Black Jack by 15 minutes; Favignana: Scallywag by 14 minutes; Pantelleria: Black Jack by 22 minutes; Lampedusa: Black Jack by 16 minutes; Finish: Scallywag by 18 minutes.
In a race filled with many pauses, turns, and unexpected changes, Scallywag’s breakthrough moment arrived with 110 nautical miles to go. David Witt continued: “We had several critical decisions that could have cost us the race, but the crucial moment was rounding Lampedusa. I believed we would tack, but Juan (Vila) pointed to a cloud, saying: ‘We’re going for it’. He insisted, ‘We’re heading into the cloud. It may look bad, but we’ll come out on the other tack, positioned 30 degrees higher, and have a chance’. When Juan Vila speaks, you follow his lead.”
One of Scallywag’s critical decisions before the race was choosing Vila as the navigator, as Witt acknowledged: “Hiring him for this race has proven invaluable. We would still be out there if he hadn’t been onboard. Black Jack made the strategic move away from the cloud at Lampedusa. Juan’s call was remarkable, and it was a privilege having him as our navigator; he’s a legend.”
Vila, a former round-the-world race winner from Spain, remarked that this pivotal decision felt more like a gamble. “It’s typical for the Rolex Middle Sea Race to be challenging. It’s frequently quite tricky,” he noted. “We constantly had to anticipate the wind’s next movements. It was an intense race. The last opportunity at Lampedusa to diverge from Black Jack was monumental. We had to gamble, and fortunately, it worked in our favor.”
His crewmates would argue there was nothing about luck involved. “Before we rounded the island, Juan came on deck saying, ‘There’s a cloud to the south on the other side. We’re sailing through that before we tack.’ You typically don’t sail into clouds. Yet we did, getting drenched, but it paid off. I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Pete Cumming, who participated on the MOD70 Argo when it set the outright race record in 2021.
The Spanish sailor has proven to be someone worth listening to. “This has probably been one of the toughest races I have navigated,” he stated. “It was relentless; there were constant changes, various challenges, and the weather forecasts weren’t always accurate. With so much to monitor, the margin for errors was critical.” Vila also praised the competition: “Black Jack is an outstanding boat with excellent crew members. They performed tremendously, and without that last opportunity, they would have easily won this race; they navigated exceptionally. Both boats did their utmost to ensure safety when leading and sought opportunities when behind.” Vila also candidly acknowledged how fortunate they were to have been slightly behind Black Jack at the bottom of the course: “It favored us. We caught the right shift moving from northeast to southeast, placing us upwind of Black Jack. We were slightly behind but in a good position to free the sheets and accelerate. Had we been alone, we might have mimicked Black Jack’s choices. Being behind often simplifies identifying chances to split.”
By the halfway mark at Favignana, the Black Jack crew recognized they would need something extraordinary over the remaining 300 miles. It wasn’t going to be simple and was ultimately in the hands of fate. Winds from the southeast were expected to fill the remaining race area, favoring a robust reaching Maxi like Scallywag. “Heading south felt very calculated and completely manageable,” Le Brun described. “Ideally, we would have pulled ahead, but we knew reaching upwind in 20 knots is a strength of Scallywag; they are simply faster. The tactical choice at Lampedusa was astute. We believed their strategy was ideal. We lacked the gap we needed, attempted to pursue an alternate route, and tried to change our fortunes. It didn’t pan out.”
For Witt, the opening Vila spotted was everything they required. “Scallywags never give up, and this result was essential for us,” he declared. “Once we sensed a glimmer of hope, everyone committed entirely. Black Jack operated their boat remarkably. I believed they executed outstandingly. We were just fortunate to have remained persistent.”
The expressions of the Scallywag team portrayed that this was more than merely a race win. The yacht underwent a significant refit in 2023, and during its first significant outing at the Rolex Sydney Hobart last December, it had to retire after breaking the bowsprit. This was an opportunity to validate that the original effort and subsequent work were worthwhile. “This result validates everything,” Witt remarked. “We were confident we had the right combination, but until you see the results, there is uncertainty. This is a prestigious race, a magnificent experience, and we would love to return and participate again.”
Despite the apparent frustration of often holding the lead, Le Brun was quick to commend owner Remon Vos and the crew for their remarkable effort. “Ultimately, this is a team sport, and that’s the most crucial aspect,” he noted. “We were an exceptional team before the start, during the race, and even now after crossing the finish, despite not achieving our goal. In this race, some factors are unpredictable, and a strong team consistently seeks solutions and supports one another to rectify issues as they arise.” Black Jack was undeniably more than just a strong team.
After Lucky’s third-place finish, Balthasar, helmed by Louis Balcaen, completed the Rolex Middle Sea Race in three days, one hour, 30 minutes, and 25 seconds, currently leading the provisional leaderboard following IRC time correction. There’s still plenty of racing left, but the crew felt understandably pleased with their performance. “Balthasar is a family project, aiming to unite my friends, who are amateurs, with professional sailors like Bouwe Bekking,” Balcaen elaborated. “The first night was a bit tumultuous; we encountered a thunderstorm while going downwind with the spinnaker up, which made for a challenging situation getting it down. We conducted extensive research before purchasing the Mark Mills design and refitted it to participate in both offshore and inshore events. This was the first significant test, and the boat performed exceptionally; it is quite sturdy.”
Watch Captain Stu Bannatyne, who has participated in eight around-the-world races, winning four, noted: “This was a classic Rolex Middle Sea Race as there were times you could win or lose significantly.” He recounted, “In Messina, we caught some favorable winds and stayed close to the larger Maxis, which motivated us. Conditions became more challenging between Stromboli and Favignana: we lost contact with the leading pair who pulled ahead on the breeze while smaller boats approached us from behind, which was frustrating—but is what one anticipates in this race.” The solution was to press on with determination. “While we managed to catch up to Lucky a few times, we didn’t quite pass them, but that kept us motivated. We kept pushing hard until the very end.”
More yachts are forecasted to finish overnight, and by tomorrow evening, we should have a clearer picture of who may secure an overall victory under IRC time correction. But for today, the spotlight is on Scallywag.
Class Action @ 17:00 CEST, Tuesday, 22 October
IRC 1
Four boats have completed the race, with Balthasar holding a robust almost 14-hour lead over Lucky. Scallywag ranks third, with Black Jack in fourth place. Three yachts remain on the course: the VO 65s, both having passed Favignana; the Austrian entry, Sisi, skippered by Gerwin Jansen; and the Lithuanian yacht, Ambersail 2, owned by Raimundas Daubaras, along with the VO70 Dinzer Doo, currently heading to Pantelleria and captained by Mika Thomas and Daniel Thomas from the United States.
IRC 2
An epic contest in this class continues. Jean Pierre Barjon’s Botin 65 Spirit of Lorina leads on the water and is projected to arrive before midnight. Nine miles back but racing closely together are Stefan Jentzsch’s Botin 56 Black Pearl, Carl-Peter Forster’s German TP52 Red Bandit, and Eric de Turckheim’s 54ft Teasing Machine. Red Bandit was the lowest-rated at Lampedusa yet held a near two-hour advantage over Teasing Machine, with Black Pearl trailing another hour behind. Franco Niggeler’s Cookson 50 Kuka 3 is positioned separately from the group but was fourth around Lampedusa, only 20 minutes after Black Pearl.
IRC 3
Once more, Géry Trentesaux’s Sydney 43 Long Courrier has managed to excel in adverse conditions, breaking free from the bottleneck that held her back along with the rest of her class after compressing off San Vito Lo Capo. Now, having rounded Pantelleria, the lowest-rated boat in the class holds a 20-mile lead over Walter Watermann & Lars Hückstädt’s GP42 X-Day. Following IRC correction at Favignana, with all but four yachts finished, Long Courrier had a 6-hour advantage over Renzo Grotessi’s Swan 42 BeWild, which is another four hours behind X-Day. The Farr 45 Sagolo Sportivento remains competitive, just 10 minutes back from X-Day.
IRC 4
The Maltese First 45 Elusive 2, sailed by Aaron, Christoph, and Maya Podesta, continues to dominate IRC 4 with a nearly 4.5-hour lead after IRC time adjustments at the Favignana transit. The First 53 Yagiza, helmed by Nikki Henderson, remains second in class and has managed to nearly match Elusive for speed, though falls significantly behind on corrected time. Both Elusive and Yagiza have pulled ahead of the remainder, benefiting from the new wind south of Favignana. Marco & Isacco Cohen’s French MAT 12 Dajenu have also made a solid performance, advancing to third in class according to the tracker.
IRC 5
Seb Ripard and Dan Calascione’s Maltese Farr 30 Calypso maintain a substantial lead in IRC 5, but the lighter breezes of recent days have allowed trailing boats to close in. Nevertheless, Calypso was the first to round Favigana shortly after 17:00, navigating into a strong southeast wind, perfectly positioned to regain some of the three miles lost. Two teams who opted for offshore routes to seek more wind have benefited. The Maltese IMX 40 Geisha, captained by Stefan Debattista and Sam O’Byrne, sits second in class according to the tracker. Kay-Johannes Wrede and Oomke Möller’s German Swan 44 Best Buddies rank third.
IRC 6
Boats competing in IRC 6 have had a slow day. Positioned north of Sicily, none have raced more than 100 miles in the last 24 hours. However, excitement is present among the Maltese youth team led by Claudio Bugeja in the J/109 JYS Jan, currently ranked first in class per the tracker. Jean Christophe Cascailh’s French Sun Fast 3200 Milou has slipped to second, but only by ten minutes. The J/109 Jarhead, captained by Gary Mercieca, ranks third, bringing good news for the Jarhead Young Sailors Foundation.
Double-Handed Class
The leading double-handed teams faced a challenging day, drifting north of Sicily. The First 36 Marina 21 from Greece, skippered by Milan Kolacek and Milan Tomek, has finally passed San Vito lo Capo and is now heading south toward the Egadi Islands. The Swan 47 Lazy Duck, led by John Ripard and Tommy Ripard, trails by 16 miles but appears to be leading on time correction. The Sun Fast 3300 Alquimia, anchored by Francesco Cerina and Matteo Uliassi, ranks third.
Class 40
Three of the remaining Class 40s, Mikael Mergui’s Centrakor, Matteo Sericano’s Lucente, and Aurelien Ducroz’s Marvic40, are racing south towards Pantelleria, with Centrakor in a slight lead. Marie Goulven’s Espoir and Michael Pühse’s Talanta continue to make gradual progress, positioned just north of the gulf of Castellammare.
Track the fleet here.
Follow the updates and stories on the Rolex Middle Sea Race website at www.rolexmiddlesearace.com
