A record 74 boats (the last one yesterday morning) have registered for participation in this year’s event which, as usual, promises to be one of the most interesting items in the local annual sporting calendar.
Addressing the press yesterday, club Commodore Georges Bonello DuPuis said that since Rolex took over the main sponsorship four years ago, the number of participants had always been on the increase. The record had reached 58 participants in last year’s event.
Said Bonello DuPuis: “The race – now in its 27th edition – has grown and grown. In fact, nowadays all boats are equipped with special tracking systems which this makes it even more safe. We can’t go beyond 80 as we have been informed by the company where we ordered them that there were no more available.”
The Commodore added that the participants included some of the world’s top yachts, including Atalanta, last year’s winner, ABN Ambro, winner of the Volvo Ocean round the world race, Maximus, Chieftain, Alfa Romeo and Morning Glory.
There will be 11 Maltese boats taking part. These are Allegra, Artie, Aziza, Bordeaux, Elusive, Geisha, Maltese Falcon, Primadonna, Strait Dealer, XL and Commanche Raider.
Among the local skippers are the well known Alfie Manduca, Lee Satariano, Sandro Musu, Willie Carbonaro, Arthur Podesta, David Pizzuto, Martin Scicluna, Georges Bonello DuPuis, David Franks, Simon Camilleri and Jonis Diamantino.
The club commodore said 50 of the boats are to be berthed at the old Medserv quay while the others will have to be berthed between the Fortina Hotel and The Nazarene Church at The Ferries in Sliema.
For the first time ever, the winner will also receive a mini Middle Sea Race trophy for keeps.
Mr DuPuis also commented on the slow progress on negotiations for a new premises for the Yacht Club. “After several years, we have not yet finalised an agreement and we’re nowhere near in sight. The terms of reference are not adequate for us to accept. We feel that certain restrictions which we were asked to sign were not in the interest of the club members,” he said.
Apart from Rolex, the other sponsors of the race are the Ministry of Tourism, The Malta Tourism Authority and the Malta Maritime Authority.
Club Secretary Teddie Borg said the race is given a lot of free publicity around the world. “It is enough to say that over 100 million people will be able to see glimpses of the event on their TV screens at their homes. Even in Malta, the start is being screened live by TVM for the first time ever. The race is attracting some of the top boats and has now established itself as the No 1 event in the Mediterranean. It was nice to hear from AirMalta that the company made the biggest profit in so far as sports was concerned, because of the Middle Sea Race,” he commented.