The sailors due to start the Rolex Middle Sea Race this morning from Malta’s beautiful Marsamxett Harbour are an intriguing mix of the professional and Corinthian. At the big boat end of the fleet, sailing aboard the big Maxi yachts are a host of ocean-racing veterans, including five skippers from the recent Volvo Ocean Race – Mike Sanderson, Paul Cayard, Sébastien Josse, Bouwe Bekking and Matt Humphries. Other big names include Olympic Champion Sofia Bekatorou from Greece, competing in her first long-distance offshore race, and singlehanded round-the-world sailor Emma Richards sailing on board ABN AMRO ONE with Mike Sanderson, whom she married earlier this year.

The majority of the 69 boats, however, are made up of sailors who come to compete for their pure love of sailing, and their passion for a race that takes them in sight of the most breathtaking scenery to be found anywhere in the world. Sailing past the menacing volcanoes, Etna and Stromboli, is an awesome experience no matter how many times you do the race.

Owner of the 45-footer Pasaya, Schle Wood, has flown from Thailand to compete in the race.

For the many Maltese sailors in the fleet, this is the culmination of a year’s training and preparation, the most important race in their calendar. As the only sailor to have competed in every edition since 1968, Arthur Podesta’s name is inextricably linked with the Rolex Middle Sea Race. Many other Maltese sailors are looking to follow in his footsteps, to take part in this annual rite of passage; the most famous – and notorious – stage of which is the passage through the Strait of Messina, the narrow waters which separate Sicily from mainland Italy. Three-thousand years after Odysseus battled with the sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis, who guarded either side of the straits, sailors still fear these treacherous waters. However, Lee Satariano’s crew on 35-footer Artie includes Isaac Borg, who claims a special connection with the creatures of the deep.

American entry, the Swan 601 Moneypenny, has brought on well-known Maltese sailor Christian Ripard to help ward off the sea monsters. Owner Jim Swartz says he’s in the race to have fun. “We’re really interested in seeing the scenery, and here to have fun, and try to do as best as we can,” he said, although judging by the calibre of his crew – for example Dee Smith on tactics and Mark Rudiger on navigation – they are the sort of sailors who have more fun winning than losing.

Mark Rudiger says winning is definitely a goal for Moneypenny, although they will have to keep an eye out for their sistership, Peter Ogden’s Spirit of Jethou from Great Britain.

Another well-campaigned mid-size yacht is Gerard O’Rourke’s Chieftain from Ireland, although he could do with a stronger wind forecast to justify the canting keel on his Cookson 50. “The weather forecast seemed to be ranging from five to 25 knots, and it swings through 360 degrees, so it looks like a lot of sail changes, very fluky. Light airs don’t really suit our boat very well so we’re hoping for more wind.”

However the weather is capable of changing by the hour in the Middle Sea, so perhaps by this morning’s start, the weather could have shifted more to O’Rourke’s liking.