George David, Ken Read and their young crew were given a warm welcome as their 90-foot super maxi Rambler crossed the imaginary finishing line at Marsamxett Harbour, right in front of the Royal Malta Yacht Club at Manoel Island.

It was just past 11.45am when the boat claimed Line Honours for this year’s event, also establishing a new course record in a time of 47 hours 55 minutes, taking over 16 hours off the previous record which had been set by Zephyrus IV in 2000.

David was simply enthusiastic about the race. “It was simply fantastic even if we had to go through some very tough conditions, especially off the north western coast of Sicily. Yet, it was tremendous. We loved the start on Saturday, but we also enjoyed the finish this morning,” David said yesterday, soon after berthing their boat at the Grand Harbour Marina in Vittoriosa.

David said the strong winds and heavy seas played havoc with most of the yachts, if not all. “We also had our hatchet broken and the boat started taking in a lot of water. But we managed to survive. Past Stromboli it was very tough along the north western Sicilian coast. We even lost our spinnaker and the pole,” he said.

Asked whether he had ever thought of abandoning the race (as four other maxis did) he bluntly said: “Never. It was a big challenge for us. We were confident we could do it, despite the very difficult conditions,” he said.

David added: “I am glad we have registered this new record which, I believe, will stand for quite some time. I honestly feel it will be very hard to beat.”

Asked whether it was his intention to be back for next year’s event, David said: “We have a lot of commitments, but I think we have a good chance of returning next year.”