Rolex Middle Sea Race Day 2 – Hurt but still fighting
by Rolex Middle Sea Race Media 20 Oct 12:43 PDT
20 October 2024
With over 24 hours elapsed in the 2024 Rolex Middle Sea Race, the narrative has been shaped by dramatic changes in wind and sea conditions.
As of 16:00 CEST, most of the fleet was navigating in generally light winds, positioned between Capo Murro di Porco to the south and midway between the islands of Alicudi and Ustica, off Sicily’s northern coast. Remon Vos’ Black Jack 100 leads slightly ahead of Huang-Seng Lee’s Scallywag 100 from Hong Kong and U.S. entry Bryon Ehrhart’s 88ft Lucky, with the Maxi72 Balthasar still in contention, albeit narrowly. Approximately 12 yachts have successfully passed Stromboli, marking the course point at Strombolicchio.
Time records at this checkpoint show that the German Botin 56 Black Pearl, helmed by Stefan Jentszch, currently leads overall under IRC time correction by mere minutes over Balthasar and Eric de Turckheim’s 2022 French champion, Teasing Machine. With many yachts yet to round the volcanic landmark, the fight for the Rolex Middle Sea Race trophy remains intense.
Track the fleet here.
112 yachts departed from Grand Harbour, Valletta on Saturday, sailing in a mild southerly breeze that pushed the fleet towards Capo Passero. The situation was complicated as an active low-pressure system impacted both wind strength and direction. The unusually warm and unstable weather caused squalls, water spouts, and frequent thunder and lightning, alongside short, steep, potentially hazardous waves.
As the yachts neared the southeast coast of Sicily, the skies darkened prematurely. Within minutes, the wind escalated from 12-15 knots to a sustained 40 knots, with even stronger gusts as a violent squall struck the main fleet. This sudden shift spared neither experience nor boat size; several yachts suffered significant sail damage, with three dismastings reported. In total, 29 boats have withdrawn from the race after this extreme incident, including last year’s champion, Bullitt.
Highly experienced sailor John Ripard Jr, on his 30th Rolex Middle Sea Race and sailing double-handed with his son Tommy aboard the Maltese Swan 47 Lazy Duck, shared his experiences this morning. “The last 24 hours have been incredibly challenging,” stated Ripard. “A harrowing 30-minute squall of intense winds caught us with full main and code zero up. We emerged from that battered but not defeated. The only downside aside from the toll on our bodies and minds was our wind instruments failing, which we have yet to recover.”
Christoph Podesta, co-skipper of the First 45 Elusive 2, also from Malta and well-acquainted with Mediterranean sailing’s unpredictability, described the tumultuous conditions from the previous night. “We encountered very strong winds and an intense thunderstorm forming nearby yesterday afternoon,” he reported. “We experienced heavy squalls with significant lightning, and multiple water spouts were forming around us, but we managed to navigate past the dangerous areas.”
The weather this morning and for a good part of the day has been vastly different, as both skippers noted, with Ripard commenting first.
“The initial 12 hours this morning were painfully still, with zero wind and a very choppy residual southeast swell. Despite that, while working up the rig to sort things out, we’re still smiling!” Podesta added: “Overall, we had a decent night with fast progress. But unfortunately, we’re now in an area of very light wind, stuck east of Etna. We’re trying to make our way towards the Strait of Messina, but the wind isn’t cooperating.” By 16:00, about 24 boats had traversed into the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Among those, the French yacht Long Courrier, a Sydney 43, features Géry Trentesaux and Alexis Loisin, both past winners of this race and the Rolex Fastnet Race, along with other strong crew members.
“After an action-packed night, we are nearing the Strait of Messina in this amazing race. We damaged some sails during a squall that lasted 30 minutes. Everyone is safe, and we’re looking forward to a good day,” noted Trentesaux. Loisin added: “24 hours into the race, we’re approaching Messina. Much has occurred already, and we’ve experienced a wide range of conditions. We’re doing well, leading our class, and pushing hard.” Long Courrier exited the strait at 11:35 CEST and by late afternoon was 11 nautical miles from Stromboli.
Another yacht that navigated through the Messina Strait this morning was the British Carkeek 45 Ino Noir, owned by James Neville, former Commodore of the Royal Ocean Racing Club. “We’re just approaching the Stromboli turning mark now,” Neville informed. “We had a smooth passage through Messina with favorable current. This leg up to Stromboli has been unpredictable with numerous sail changes and gybes to stay in the breeze. The wind fluctuated, eventually coming from the east. It’s dry on board after yesterday’s drenching, and the day feels warm, with relatively calm seas.” Ino Noir passed the Stromboli transit at 15:37.
At the front of the pack, it hasn’t been an easy journey despite the lead size. After a swift trip to Capo Passero, just as the sky darkened, the top four initially made good speed towards the toe of the Italian peninsula. Black Jack reached the entrance to the 20 nautical mile Strait of Messina around 22:30, leading Scallywag by five miles while Lucky and Balthasar lagged another eight miles behind. The Strait acted as a bottleneck, compressing the four as they navigated the challenging shoreline and emerging between 02:00 and 03:00. None managed to create significant separation heading towards Stromboli, which they accessed at dawn. As we report, the quartet is effectively stalled, with the notably smaller Black Pearl seemingly bringing fresh wind as she approaches.
Class Action @ 16:00 CEST, Sunday 20 October
IRC 1
The powerful contenders have capitalized compared to the majority of the fleet but face a tough night ahead with the northern wind off Sicily showing little promise. At the Stromboli transit, Balthasar had a substantial lead of nearly five hours over Lucky, while Black Jack 100 was in third, just 20 minutes behind.
IRC 2
An exciting race is unfolding, featuring several yachts vying for the podium. At Capo Passero, Franco Niggeler’s Swiss Cookson 50 Kuka 3 led Black Pearl and Jean Pierre Barjon’s Botin 65 Spirit of Lorina post-time correction. Rankings at Messina showed NMYD 54 Teasing Machine topping the list, followed by Kuka 3 and Carl-Peter Forster’s German TP52 Red Bandit. The latest timings at Stromboli have shifted the standings, with Black Pearl reclaiming the lead by 11 minutes over Teasing Machine, and over an hour ahead of Kuka 3. Black Pearl has extended her lead on the water as she pursues Balthasar in the class above. Mitch Booth, strategist on Kuka 3, updated at midday: “Currently, we’re focused on navigating the next transition as we turn toward lighter upwind conditions. We lost a bit of ground this morning, but that allows us to clearly see what the boats ahead are experiencing regarding wind.”
IRC 3
The leaders in IRC 3 are nearing Stromboli still benefiting from the breeze. The duration of this wind will dictate how much time they can enjoy visibility of the volcanic landmark during the night, as well as whether they retain their leads after time adjustments. Long Courrier is leading on the water, followed by Italy’s Farr 45 Sagola Spartivento, skippered by Peppe Fornich, and Yves Grosjean’s French Neo 430 Roma, Afazik Impulse. At the Messina transit, the standings remained unchanged, with gaps of two hours and 45 minutes respectively.
IRC 4
Elusive 2, sailed by Aaron, Maya, and Christoph Podesta, has established a vast lead. Benoit Tuduri’s French S40 Focus (Firecrest) and Marco & Isacco Cohen’s French MAT 12 Dajenu are locked in an epic contest for second place. At 1600, Dajenu was gaining momentum and after time correction was ranked second by the tiniest margin. Elusive 2’s performance has been exceptional, passing Capo Passero just four minutes ahead of Focus on the water, but 20 hours later, Elusive 2 was over 20 miles ahead and extending as the wind surged through the Strait of Messina. Nikki Henderson, at the helm of the British First 53 Yagiza, reported: “It has been an incredibly intense 24 hours with numerous sail changes. We can see the strong winds approaching and also spotted water spouts, so we furled our Code Zero early, which worked well for us. Right now, we are focusing on keeping the boat moving through the lighter conditions. We are strategizing our entry into the Messina Strait, opting for the northeast side to catch a bit more pressure. Morale is high on board, and the light winds have allowed the crew to catch a bit more sleep.”
IRC 5
Seb Ripard and Dan Calascione’s Maltese Farr 30 Calypso has achieved great success over the last 24 hours, moving up to first in the class by more than three hours after IRC time corrections. Maks Vrecko’s Slovenian Elan 450 Karpo has fallen to second in the class standings. The Australian Swan 53 Bedouin, co-skippered by Guglielmo Giordano & Linda Goddard, is in third place. While recognizing the talented crew aboard Calypso, the light winds on the second day were much more favorable for their Farr 30 than for the heavier boats like Bedouin and Karpo.
IRC 6
Recent rankings have dramatically reshaped the standings in this class over the past 24 hours. Two Sun Fast 3300s have surged to the top. Simon Toms’ British crew on Zephyr is estimated to hold a 90-minute lead after time adjustment. Italy’s Matteo Uliassi, racing Alquimia double-handed with Francesco Cerina, is ranked second. In third place is Jean Christophe Cascailh’s French Sun Fast 3200 Milou. Zephyr and Alquima adopted differing strategies after passing Capo Passero, with Zephyr opting for a more offshore route to avoid Etna’s wind shadow, while Alquimia took an inshore path, likely seeking land-assisted winds. The latest result at 1600 today shows Zephyr leading by three miles.
At midday, Claudio Bugeja, captain of the youth team aboard JYS Jan, reported: “We are preparing to head into the Strait of Messina. It’s still a bit far off, but that’s our target. After yesterday’s squall, we’ve managed to fix most of the damages we sustained. We’re moving well, spirits are high, everyone is in good shape and content. Everyone is feeling hungry, which is always a good sign. We currently have some pleasant winds, though it wasn’t easy earlier today. We hope the Strait behaves favorably!”
Double Handed Class
Only half of the double-handed fleet remains active following the tumultuous first night. Lann Ael 3, Muttley-BDM Audit, Lunatika, Vivace, and Atame have all withdrawn. All crews are safe and secure. Didier Gaudoux, skipper of the French MN35 Lann Ael, described their experience: “It was extremely violent. For five or six hours after the start, we were sailing with a spinnaker at 15 knots, and everything seemed fine. We noticed many storms and lightning surrounding us but thought they wouldn’t affect us. Suddenly, the wind escalated from 15 to 50 knots, and the boat was completely flat on its side for about three minutes. Eventually, we got the spinnaker down, but the wind picked up again. The compression tube exploded, causing the mast to fall. I want to express gratitude to the crew on the boat named Goose, who dropped their sails and circled us for an hour and a half just to ensure we were alright.”
Back on the race course, Alquimia is currently leading Lazy Duck and the First 36 Marina 21 from Greece, skippered by Milan Kolacek and Milan Tomek.
Class 40
Mikael Mergui’s Centrakor has completed the Stromboli transit, followed just over an hour later by Matteo Sericano’s Lucente. After leading to Capo Passero, Marvic40 has struggled through the day and has only just exited the Messina Strait. Espoir and Talanta have yet to enter the Strait.
Stay updated with news and stories from the Rolex Middle Sea Race at www.rolexmiddlesearace.com
