Rolex Middle Sea Race Day 3 – Splinter Groups
by Rolex Middle Sea Race Media 21 Oct 10:51 PDT
21 October 2024
Classic confrontations have surged through the fleet on the third day of the 2024 Rolex Middle Sea Race. The intense conditions of the first night now seem like a distant memory as crews contend with the capricious nature of prevailing winds, while intra-class rivalries are intensifying.
At the forefront, the two 100-foot heavyweight contenders for line honors seem to have their two cruiserweight rivals on the ropes. With only 200 nautical miles remaining in their battle, and the sluggish southeasterly winds expected to improve after dark, there’s still potential for unexpected developments. Among the smaller yachts, overall fleet dominance under IRC time correction remains up for grabs, with the race rewarding tactical skill over sheer size thus far.
Track the fleet here.
Light winds prevailed yesterday and into the night. Even at 16:00 CEST today, only the yachts yet to round Stromboli are experiencing any sort of breeze. Meanwhile, the leaders are zeroing in on Pantelleria after passing Favignana at the racecourse’s northwest corner this morning. Huang-Seng Lee’s Scallywag 100 from Hong Kong led the westernmost passage, going through at 07:50 CEST, with Black Jack trailing just 15 minutes behind. Bryon Ehrhart’s 88ft US entry Lucky passed through 90 minutes later, narrowly ahead of the Maxi72 Balthasar. Since then, both Black Jack and Scallywag have begun to demonstrate the benefits of their longer waterline and sail power, extending an 11nm lead over the smaller competitors.
Conditions have only worsened for those behind. While winds may exist at the Aeolian Islands, 45nm west of Stromboli, they stop at Alicudi, the most westerly island. This situation isn’t expected to improve until early Tuesday morning, and even then, only slightly and inconsistently. Meanwhile, strong winds are coming from the southeast, set to reach Malta at midnight tonight and dominate the southern and western course area for approximately the next 24 hours.
In IRC2, Stefan Jentzsch and Black Pearl must be questioning if they angered Poseidon. The well-prepared crew, including last year’s victorious navigator Marc Lagesse, initially made progress after Stromboli, closing in on Balthasar, while simultaneously pulling 15 miles ahead of Red Bandit, Spirit of Lorina, Kuka 3, and Teasing Machine, with whom the Botin 56 had been trading potential podium positions since the race’s beginning. Around 9 p.m., just as an unlikely breakthrough seemed near, the German yacht came to a halt, allowing the top four to pull ahead and letting the chasing pack catch up. By 16:00, Black Pearl found itself just west of Trapani, northwest Sicily, with Carl-Peter Forster’s TP52 Red Bandit closely following. Eric de Turckheim’s 54ft Teasing Machine and Jean Pierre Barjon’s Botin 65 Spirit of Lorina navigated closer to the Sicilian port, possibly hoping that land effects would help them sail around Levanzo and Favignana, heading south. The rest of the class extends back to Ustica, with the compact Elliott 35 Palby Marine and the notably elegant Nacira 69, 12, at the rear.
Arto Linnervuo, owner of the Finnish Infiniti 52 Tulikettu Redkik Racing outfitted with DSS foils and competing in IRC 2, reported from 40 miles away from Favignana. “Everything’s fine with the crew, boat, and gear,” Linnervuo stated. “We had a strong start and foiled for several hours. When the thunderstorm hit, we switched to safety mode, but unfortunately, we damaged two stanchions that we’ve made temporary repairs on. Last night went well; we stayed in the breeze with numerous gybes. Today, we’ve battled with the wind and spent a chunk of the morning stuck in a significant windless area. We recently found some new westerlies and are back in motion. It’s an exciting race, and we’re enjoying every moment despite the gap created by the boats ahead. We aim to get back on foils after Favignana and start reaching; that’s our boat’s sweet spot, and we hope to regain positions.”
The standout performance thus far belongs to Calypso in IRC 5. Not only is the Seb Ripard and Dan Calascione-skippered Farr 30 a whopping 85nm ahead of its classmates (just reaching Stromboli), but the Maltese boat is presently situated between Alicudi and Ustica, tracking alongside leaders in IRC 4, Elusive 2 and Yagiza, while about to encroach on IRC 3’s trailing boats: Renzo Grotessi’s BeWild, Aaron Gatt Floridia’s Otra Vez, and Alex Laing’s Goose. This remarkable sailing performance is alarmingly reminiscent of last year’s nearly flawless display by the similarly small Red Ruby. A pivotal moment came yesterday at Messina. The Swan 53 Bedouin led IRC3 into the 20nm strait around 19:00 on Sunday evening, just ahead of Calypso. As they threaded their way north, both remained closely matched until reaching Villa San Giovanni on the mainland. Upon crossing to the northern shore just before the exit, Calypso seemed to have found favorable wind and/or current, making a breakout at 23:30. Meanwhile, the Bedouin crew was stuck and only liberated at 04:30, with the rest of the class clustered behind. Calypso fully capitalized on this, rounding Stromboli at 6:00 a.m. and continuing west in the available wind. At our deadline, the Australian entry Bedouin, skippered by Guglielmo Giordano & Linda Goddard, is about to round Stromboli. With more than half the race still to run, it’s far from over due to the wind’s unpredictability.
Yesterday afternoon, the First 45 Elusive 2, co-owned by Aaron, Christoph, and Maya Podesta, appeared to gain a similar distance from its nearest rival. The Maltese yacht entered the Strait with a 15nm lead over British competitor Yagiza and managed to clear the narrow channel some six hours later. By the time they reached Stromboli, that lead had shrunk to just under three hours. Yagiza, a First 53 led by Nikki Henderson, made significant strides during the 35nm leg to close in on Elusive, building a gap over those behind. Focus was nearly four hours behind during the Messina transit. At Stromboli, Benoit Tuduri’s S-40 trailed by 11 hours. After Stromboli, Yagiza took a more northern route compared to Elusive, and the decision appears to have been advantageous. The two are currently positioned near Palermo, with Yagiza 15nm north of the lower-rated Elusive. Another rivalry worth following.
Like many others, Long Courrier, Géry Trentesaux’s Sydney 43 in IRC 3, has had a challenging day. Although still appearing to lead the class based on time correction, the French crew has spent the day watching the rest of their group close in. Stationary north of Palermo, the atmosphere is tense as everyone awaits the wind. Trentesaux managed to find time to comment. “All is well on board, but there’s no wind right now and the boats behind are catching up,” he mentioned. “This can happen during races. During the storm on the first day, we sustained damage to the mainsail. We made repairs in calmer weather post-Messina which took us 20 minutes. We were 12 miles ahead of Yves Grosjean and Afazik Impulse, but they’ve come back with the wind. We know new wind will come near Favignana, so we’ll see if we can pull ahead when we get there. Everything is under control; the boat performs excellently upwind, and we anticipate more wind.”
Following a long and exhausting approximately 56 hours, the fleet’s back markers have passed through the Messina Strait. Germaine Williams and Escapado are currently last on the water, with Enrico Calvi’s Duffy and Stefan Hümmeke’s Infinity just ahead. Daniel Ziehmayer, co-skipper of the Dufour 46 Almar, part of an all-Austrian crew competing in their first Rolex Middle Sea Race, reported from among the tail-enders. “We encountered some sail damage in rough conditions, and now with very light wind, we are repairing the gennaker,” Ziehmayer explained. “At this point, we’d prefer more wind, but overall we’re feeling good and motivated to continue and finish in time for the prize-giving. We’ve made it through Messina, but we still can’t see Stromboli due to rain. We will be very pleased when we can finally view the volcano.”
A total of 32 yachts have retired, with all crew safe, leaving 80 still in the race, which includes the lone multihull, Aldo Fumagalli’s Picomole.
Class Action @ 16:00 CEST, Monday 21 October 2024
IRC 1
The journey has been lengthy and slow for the largest yachts as they traveled across the top of Sicily to the western turn at Favignana. Now, in search of breeze on the open sea segment toward Pantelleria and Lampedusa, Balthasar continues to lead in time correction, holding an 11-hour margin over Scallywag and Black Jack 100.
IRC 2
Black Pearl’s challenging leg across the top of Sicily has finally concluded. The Botin 56 continues to lead on the water and was the first to cross the Favignana transit line just after 16:00. However, this is unlikely to be sufficient to maintain the lead in time correction, as Teasing Machine, Red Bandit, and Spirit of Lorina are hot on her trail. It remains to be seen if a gap can be established in the race’s second half.
IRC 3
Long Courrier was the first to round Stromboli and initially secured its lead until it hit a wind hole midway to Favignana, allowing the chasers to close the gap. At the Stromboli transit, Long Courrier held a 2.5-hour advantage over the Italian Farr 45 Sagola Spartivento, skippered by Peppe Fornich, with the GP42 X-Day, co-skippered by Walter Watermann and Lars Hückstädt, trailing an additional hour behind. As one of the lower-rated competitors in IRC 3, the crew of Long Courrier will not be overly concerned about this shift in fortunes.
IRC 4
Elusive 2 continues to excel, enjoying a nearly five-hour lead after time correction at Stromboli. Following closely is Yagiza, currently a few miles behind on the water. Although Yagiza has a considerably higher IRC rating, it remains a serious threat if Elusive were to make an unusual error in these light wind conditions. Papazulu, an RM 1360 skippered by Massimo Gabriele Verdi from Italy, holds third at Stromboli, trailing Yagiza by about 11 hours.
IRC 5
Calypso has maintained impressive speed, racing ahead to a lead of over 70 miles from the rest of the class, and will challenge for pole position on the IRC Overall leaderboard if this trend continues. Calypso has built a 12-hour advantage over the German Swan 441R, Best Buddies, skippered by Kay-Johannes Wrede and Oomke Möller. The competition for the final podium position is intense behind them, with a group of boats rounding Stromboli, and Didier Vernhet’s French Figaro II, Un Palier Deux Toits (IF), currently in third after time correction, just 20 minutes behind Best Buddies.
IRC 6
Virtually all boats still competing in IRC 6 are experiencing good wind, closely contesting on the water, with the leaders just rounding Stromboli. The view must be as spectacular as the competition, with class rankings fluctuating as wildly as the volcano itself. Jean Christophe Cascailh’s French Sun Fast 3200 Milou has moved up from third to first after IRC time correction, albeit by a narrow margin. Second in class by a mere 15 minutes is the oldest boat in the Rolex Middle Sea Race, the Australian Auzepy-Brenneur 68 El Oro, helmed by Kent King. The Maltese youth team, led by Claudio Bugeja and racing J/109 JYS Jan, currently occupies third place, 30 minutes further back. Meanwhile, their sistership, the J/109 Jarhead, also helmed by a youth team led by Gary Mercieca, holds fourth place, only 20 minutes adrift.
Double Handed Class
The leading double-handers are rapidly nearing Stromboli. At Messina, the Sun Fast 3300 Alquimia, skippered by Francesco Cerina and Matteo Uliassi, held a 30-minute edge in time correction over the Swan 47 Lazy Duck, led by John and Tommy Ripard, with Greece’s First 36 Marina 21, helmed by Milan Kolacek and Milan Tomek, trailing another hour behind. Depending on relative positions on the water, Lazy Duck might have overtaken Alquimia in the IRC standings once around Stromboli.
Class 40
Mikael Mergui’s Centrakor and Matteo Sericano’s Lucente lead on the water, positioned to the north of Palermo. Aurelien Ducroz’s Marvic40 has made significant advances across the top of Sicily, and all three could potentially meet at Favignana. The sluggish progress of Marie Goulven’s Espoir and Michael Pühse’s Talanta continues, but the duo has finally reached Stromboli.
Keep up with the news and stories on the Rolex Middle Sea Race website at www.rolexmiddlesearace.com
