Red Bandit Triumphs in 2024 Rolex Middle Sea Race
by Rolex Middle Sea Race Media 23 Oct 09:58 PDT
23 October 2024
At 17:00 CEST on Wednesday, 23 October, the winner of the 45th Rolex Middle Sea Race was announced, with the German TP52 Red Bandit, captained by Carl-Peter Forster, taking the title.
The Royal Malta Yacht Club has confirmed that no other yacht still racing can surpass Red Bandit’s IRC corrected time. “It’s almost unbelievable; it would be extremely satisfying if it holds,” remarked Forster prior to the official confirmation. “I’m particularly proud of these young individuals, most of whom had never sailed a big boat four years ago. They’ve mastered this vessel remarkably well, which is quite impressive. I’m proud of how they operate as a cohesive team.”
“This was my seventh race. The Rolex Middle Sea Race was once again extraordinary and varied. We experienced winds up to 60 knots during a thunderstorm, the fastest crossing of Messina Strait due to a favorable six-knot current, typical light winds, and a strong fleet around us. We had continuous competition and challenging encounters,” added Forster.
Red Bandit Crew: Carl-Peter Forster, Bouwe Van Der Weiden, Christian Buck, Frederick Eichhorst, Jacob Meggendorfer, Jesper Radich, Joshua Weber, Max Wentzel, Moritz Troll, Moriz Forster, Nico Jansen, Niklas Schubert, Oliver Oczycz, Sophie von Waldow
The Red Bandit initiative offers a pathway program for young sailors, established under the Forstar Offshore Foundation by Forster. This foundation allows talented young dinghy sailors to transition to competitive offshore racing. With the exception of Forster and the seasoned tactician Jesper Radich, the crew is mostly under 30 years old.
After a victorious run at the 2023 Giraglia, the crew faced the disappointment of retiring due to equipment failure in the same year’s Rolex Middle Sea Race. On the first night of this year’s race, confronted with strong winds and heavy seas, Forster recalled that moment. “On the first night, I was hoping the boat would hold up,” he explained. “These boats are delicate; in 43 knots of wind, any mistake can lead to a breakage, be it the mast or a sail… anything. Thankfully, nothing broke, and the boat was better prepared this time.”
The team’s success stems from their passion for sailing, their drive to improve, and a strong sense of teamwork. This exceptional character allowed Red Bandit to maintain speed throughout a challenging race characterized by both light breezes and strong gusts, as well as varying sea conditions.
“The light wind may have appeared simple from the outside, but it was far from that,” Radich noted. “It was crucial to make the correct decisions since the wind was unpredictable. Our forecasts were only 50% accurate, requiring us to discern which part of it was correct. We encountered a setback near Favignana and had to work hard to recover. Overall, we handled the light wind segments well. However, upwind sailing is not our forte; that’s our weakness in 20 knots, especially without a heavy weather jib. We struggled a bit, but the team did an outstanding job hiking the boat for 16 hours each day.”
Red Bandit becomes the third German yacht to win the Rolex Middle Sea Race, following Saudade (1983) and Morning Glory (2006).
A comprehensive report will follow.
Class Action – 16:00 CEST, Wednesday, 23 October
With news that Red Bandit is unbeatable among the remaining yachts in the race, focus now shifts to class standings and podium positions. No class has a complete list of finishers at the clubhouse, meaning there’s still much at stake for the boats still racing.
As of 16:00 CEST, 15 yachts competing under IRC Time Correction for the Rolex Middle Sea Race Trophy have successfully completed the course. 34 boats have officially retired, primarily due to damages suffered on the first night. Presently, 51 boats continue racing under IRC. The only multihull in the fleet is currently nearing the South Comino Channel.
IRC 1 – ALL BAR ONE
The only remaining boat to finish is the United States’ Volvo 70 Dinzer Doo, which, despite being through the South Comino Channel, is already far behind the time set by Maxi 72 Balthasar. The other podium slots go to Bryon Ehrhart’s Juan K designed Lucky, trailing over 13.5 hours behind due to Balthasar’s remarkable performance.
IRC 2 – NINE HOME
Red Bandit competed in a highly competitive fleet and the crew worked hard not just for overall victory, but also to keep pace, especially in stronger winds. After initially being off the podium at Capo Passero, the German yacht was under an hour behind early leader Kuka 3. By Messina, they moved up to third place. However, after falling behind at Stromboli, they found themselves over an hour behind Black Pearl. Passing through the lighter winds above Sicily, Red Bandit advanced to second place, just three minutes shy of Teasing Machine at Favignana. By Pantelleria, this gap had grown to a 1.5-hour lead, setting them up well for Lampedusa, where they increased their lead further. At the finish, their corrected time lead was two hours and three minutes over 2022’s winner, Teasing Machine.
IRC 3 – LEADER IN SOUTH COMINO CHANNEL
Géry Trentesaux’s Sydney 43 Long Courrier from France has maintained its position at the top since establishing a lead of 3 hours and 40 minutes at the Messina Strait. The Italian Farr 45 Sagola Sportivento narrowed the gap by an hour at Stromboli. Nevertheless, despite appearing to close the distance along the northern coast of Sicily, by Favignana, Long Courrier’s lead on time correction expanded to 6.5 hours over the Swan 42 BeWild; and by Lampedusa, the lead stretched to a staggering 11 hours. Long Courrier is now close to Comino and expected to finish within approximately two hours. Following behind on the water is the GP42 X-Day at 10 nautical miles back, with the first Maltese entry, Lee Satariano’s HH42 Artie III, 18 nautical miles further in the rear.
Aaron Gatt Floridia, the owner of the ICE 52 Otra Vez, reported from Lampedusa: “We have around 25 knots of wind from the southeast with reasonably large seas and a very mixed sea state. It appears there’s a solid breeze all the way to Comino. Most boats around us are in our class, so it’s essentially a race for speed. We had a challenging night battling strong winds directly against us, which hasn’t allowed for much rest, but we’ll give it our all until the finish.”
Another ICE 52, Goose, also reported in from the southernmost point of the course. Navigator Steve Hayles remarked: “The last 100 miles might well be the easiest. The race has been slow thus far, with wind speeds ranging from 0 to 55 knots. The fleet has split into three distinct groups depending on weather and tidal windows. At times, we couldn’t match the pace of the lighter boats that can plane, but it’s been unforgettable. There has been significant thunderstorm activity, so monitoring cloud patterns has been our priority.”
IRC 4 – LEADERS AROUND LAMPEDUSA
The Maltese First 45 Elusive II, helmed by Aaron, Maya, and Christoph Podesta was just over 70 miles from the finish with a 6.45-hour advantage after IRC time correction from First 53 Yagiza led by Nikki Henderson, which was 17 miles behind Elusive at Lampedusa. The leg towards South Comino Channel is expected to be a fast, tight reach with few tactical choices. Although Yagiza’s longer waterline length might decrease their distance to Elusive, surpassing Elusive’s IRC corrected time seems unlikely. Marco & Isacco Cohen’s French MAT 12 Dajenu is still in third place with 91 miles remaining. Nevertheless, Andrew and Sam Hall’s J/125 Jackknife, just six miles ahead of Dajenu, poses a significant threat to the podium. Nikki Henderson, skipper of Yagiza, commented, “The wind hole before Favignana was brutal—be careful what you wish for! Last night, while sailing south, we experienced winds in the high 30s, which was quite intense and definitely woke us up. We’re committed to pushing as hard as we can. In every sense, this team has come together, and we’re excited to reach the finish line.”
IRC 5 – CALYPSO APPROACHING LAMPEDUSA
Seb Ripard and Dan Calascione’s Maltese Farr 30 Calypso held a 7.5-hour class lead after IRC time correction at Pantelleria, yet their lead on the water has dwindled to merely ten miles. The passage since rounding Favignana has been a challenging upwind journey, with the heavy Swan 53 Bedouin gradually eating into Calypso’s lead. This advantage may almost vanish during the tight reach towards the Maltese archipelago. The Maltese IMX 40 Geisha, skippered by Stefan Debattista and Sam O’Byrne, holds third place just an hour ahead of the Slovenian Elan 450 Karpo led by Maks Vrecko. Alex Turnbull, from Calypso, reported: “We’re rounding Lampedusa; it has been tough going, particularly upwind since Favignana, especially last night when we had to reduce sail to a reefed main and jib. We’re averaging about 7 knots speed. Calypso is performing well, and the crew is motivated.”
IRC 6 – BIG BUNCH AROUND PANTELLERIA
The pace has increased significantly in the small boat category, as the majority of the fleet has doubled their mileage compared to the previous 24 hours. The bulk of the fleet was rounding Pantelleria, ready to harden for the leg to Lampedusa. These upwind conditions perfectly suit the oldest vessel in the race. The Australian 68-foot ketch El Ora, skippered by Kent King, is thriving in the big conditions and currently leads the class based on IRC time correction. However, two youth teams are the primary challengers for this veteran. The Maltese youth team, led by Claudio Bugeja, sailing the J/109 JYS Jan, is second, just 18 minutes behind JYS Jan and closely followed by the J/109 Jarhead, helmed by Gary Mercieca. The three vessels—El Ora, JYS Jan, and Jarhead—are all within a mile of each other at Pantelleria.
IRC Double Handed
Milan Kolacek & Milan Tomek on Marina 21 have surged to the forefront after converting a near two-hour deficit on corrected time to the Swan 47 Lazy Duck into a 40-minute lead at Favignana. Competing in IRC 5, Marina 21 is expected to be faster on the water, while Lazy Duck from Malta and Alquimia from Italy are just rounding Pantelleria, with the Greek entry already more than halfway to Lampedusa. Earlier, John Ripard, co-skipper of Lazy Duck, remarked, “We’re unaware of the wind speed since we lost our wind instruments on the first day, but we are close-reaching south past Pantelleria with one reef and a number four. It’s not so relaxing anymore!” At Pantelleria, Marina 21 maintained a 1.5-hour corrected time lead over Lazy Duck.
Class 40
An exhilarating contest is unfolding at the front of the Class 40 fleet. At Lampedusa, three yachts were within 10 minutes of each other. Mikael Mergui’s Centrakor held a 7-minute lead over Matteo Sericano’s Lucente, while Aurelien Ducroz’s Marvic 40 was just two minutes behind. The trio is currently lined up side by side, 20 nautical miles from the South Comino Channel, with Marvic 40 to the north and Lucente to the south.
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