It will be an early morning start for this year’s edition of the Malta-Tunisia Yacht Rally. In fact the first of the two scheduled start signals will be given at five o’clock tomorrow and this will set the sailing yachts going.

Twenty-five hours later, precisely at six in the morning of Saturday, a second start will be held, this time for the Rally fleet of motor yachts.

The Phoenician Experience, as this now established yachting event is known, presents participants with a 300-kilometre crossing to El Kantaoui with a one night stop-over at Lampedusa.

All yachts are expected to reach the 220-kilometre distant Italian island by tomorrow evening with a repeat two-start procedure envisaged for the final 80-kilometre Lampedusa-El Kantaoui run.

Sailing yachts will set sail at twelve noon on Saturday while skippers and crew of motor yachts will spend a whole day at Lampedusa definitely having ample time for a appetising meal ashore where cozze, gamberetti, pasta con sardi, risotto alla marinara or the rich Bottarga... complemented with a bottle of Regaleali wine without doubt will be on the skippers’ agenda. Eventually motor yachts will depart from Lampedusa at seven o’clock on Sunday morning.

Herman Baldacchino, winner of the 2003 Rally, will be the only past winner of the four previous experiences on this fifth edition. Two years ago Baldacchino skippered Maarial to victory but this year he is competing with Wishbone, a new 13-metre Jeanneau.

“Wishbone is two metres longer than Maarial and although considered a cruising boat, it enjoys a racing hull. My crew and I are keen to enjoy the trip and hopefully clinch the title again”, remarked Herman Baldacchino.

Like many other local enthusiasts sailing for Herman is a family ‘concern’.

His wife Doris and daughter Lara are regular crew on his sailing trips whether it’s racing or simply cruising. For the El Kantaoui Rally the Baldacchino family will be joined by another two crew members – Lewis and Leanne Baldacchino.

In fact, such a particular characteristic has established the Phoenician Experience as a pleasant annual appointment where the family holiday spirit is given more importance than the competitive sailing aspect.

The other past winners of the Malta-Tunisia Yacht Rally were: 1998 – Mirador skippered by Donald Brincat; 1999 – Zarina skippered by Winston V. Zahra; and 2000 – Fjuri skippered by Anthony Mangion.

The rally fleet is expected to reach El Kantaoui on Sunday afternoon with the highlight of the Tunisian visit being the Presentation of Prizes to be held over a Gala Dinner on Monday evening.

Two distinguished personalities on this occasion will be Naceur Mestiri, Tunisian Ambassador to Malta, and Ives Debarro the Maltese Ambassador in Tunisia.

The Malta-Tunisia Yacht Rally is held under the patronage of the Ministers of Tourism of Malta and Tunisia.

The main sponsors of the 2005 Rally are the Bank of Valletta and the Tunisian airline Tuninter with other support being extended by the Tunisian National Tourism Office.