The only doublehanded team in the Rolex Middle Sea Race led the 68-strong fleet out of Marsamxett Harbour on a beautiful sunny morning in Malta. The 34-foot J/105 Slingshot, raced by British duo Shaun Murphy and Ric Searle, shot out of the first of six staggered starts and led her division comfortably around the Rolex turning mark at Tigne Point, just under a mile out of the start.
The start line in the Harbour is arguably the most spectacular of any yacht race in the world, but it is narrow and so the race committee phased the fleet into six divisions, starting with the smallest and graduating up to the Maxis who started 50 minutes after the likes of Slingshot.
The Maxi start was one of the closest, with Paul Cayard steering Thuraya Maximus into pole position, crossing the line less than two seconds after the 25-pound field guns, operated by the Armed Forces of Malta, sent the last of the fleet on its way. Alfa Romeo is regarded as the most potent SuperMaxi in the world and despite a slightly more conservative start, Neville Crichton’s boat had already drawn level with Thuraya Maximus by the Rolex buoy. An hour after starting Alfa Romeo had eked out a half-mile lead on the other SuperMaxi. Indeed the sleek 100-footer had overhauled every other yacht in the fleet, even those that started 50 minutes earlier, some 6 miles after the St Paul’s Bay turning mark.
As the boats headed away from Malta, the wind built up to 20 knots and propelled the fleet along at high speed on a broad reach towards Sicily. So far the wind has been far better than the weather forecast was predicting, although how long it will last is another matter. Mike Sanderson, skipper of the Volvo Open 70 ABN AMRO ONE, commented before the start: “It’s not looking good for an ABN AMRO victory. The Rolex Middle Sea Race was never in our design brief for this boat, and VO70s really aren’t special in 7 knots of breeze. We need breeze. On this course Alfa Romeo is the undisputed favourite. Neville has done a fantastic job with his campaign. The boat is very narrow, with a big rig. She’s a rocketship in light airs.” Cayard admitted much the same, saying that Thuraya Maximus would need strong winds to stand a hope of beating Alfa Romeo around the 608-mile course. So far the race is running perfectly for Slingshot, with Shaun Murphy and Ric Searle enjoying their downhill sleigh ride towards Sicily, and one of the few teams to welcome the light winds forecast for the majority of the race. Far from regretting the lack of a full crew, skipper Murphy sees it as an advantage.
A fascinating match race is in store for the two Swan 601s, Sir Peter Ogden’s Spirit of Jethou and Jim Swartz's Moneypenny. On paper the Moneypenny team should win this contest, as the boat is packed with some of the best professionals in the world, sailors such as Dee Smith and Mark Rudiger. But the British sailors on Jethou are very accomplished too, and include former Rolex Sydney Hobart winner Jeremy Robinson. Spirit of Jethou won the race to the first turning mark and were holding a slim lead over Moneypenny.
The 45-footer Pasaya has already pulled out of the race due to engine problems which the crew has been trying to solve for the past three days. Schle Wood, the first owner from Thailand ever to enter the race, was very upset not to be able to race the full course but we has determined to cross the start line before retiring.
By 1700 Central European Time the front-runners had passed Capo Passero on the southern tip of Sicily and were starting the long haul up the eastern coast towards the Straits of Messina.