The Gewiss Marzamemi Weekend Regatta came to a close last weekend with a passage race from Sicily to Malta organised by the Royal Malta Yacht Club on Sunday morning.

In contrast to the heavy Grigale conditions experienced on the way up to Sicily on Thursday, the fleet really experienced champagne sailing conditions this time around.

In fact out of a fleet of 57 boats, only five managed to sail across to finish the race back to Malta.

The rest opted to take a break from their sailing schedule, drop their sails and enjoy their motor sail back to Malta. Some tried their potluck at fishing while others just chatted their way back to Malta.

This weekend has become the RMYC’s “Must Do Event” New members and boat owners pluck enough courage to cross over in a flotilla for their very first time. In fact, the Club attracted some 16 “new passage makers” who had never crossed over to Sicily before. It also manages to attract the Club’s hard core racer, so, a blend of sailors in company always makes for a good regatta. That, together with a social and gastronomical agenda in Marzamemi makes for a great getaway.

Despite a moderate forecast for the race up to Marzamemi, the channel crossing to Sicily did not fail to live up to its reputation, with some competitors having to retire half way there and others were having to race in rather rough conditions. The heavier boats were destined to perform well in these conditions with Elusive making the best corrected time to claim overall IRC in race one. Second in IRC was Allegra followed by David Pizzuto’s Geisha.

In the second IRC Group, Spirit of the Winds claimed first place, followed by Willie Carbonaro on Bordeaux and in third place finished Mischief. The new IRC Cruiser class was very well attended and looks likely to become a permanent fixture in the Clubs future events. Anthony Camilleri on board Windward claimed top spot in his new boats’ first outing, followed by Diva and finally Jeannine. In the second IRC Cruiser class, Serena finished first followed by Albert Bonello Ghio on board Kaos.

The social aspect of this weekend is also worth mentioning. An excursion was organised and some 200 club members enjoyed a tour to Buscemi, followed by an Agri Turismo lunch and finally, a stop in Noto before heading back to Marzamemi.

Saturday was a lay day and many ventured into the mainland to discover the various regions Sicily has to offer. Some opted to do some maintenance on board their boats before the crossing back to Malta.

Conditions on Sunday morning could not have been more perfect for the departure with the sun out and an easterly wind allowing the boats to reach out of Marzamemi towards Capo Passero. However, just after passing Capo Passero, the fleet started to struggle with the very light winds and in fact, only five boats managed to finish the race back to Malta.

First in the IRC Racing class was Geisha, followed by Sonke on board Kerisma and finally, in third place was Martin Scicluna on board Maltese Falcon. Nisida and Strait Dealer were the other finishing boats from the rest of the fleet.

Although all the other boats retired in every other division, Fekruna deserves a worthy mention.

The skipper and crew decided to continue this race till the very end and managed to cross the finish line some 32 minutes after the official time limit which was set at 2am on Sunday early morning. Their determination must surely be applauded.

Finally, a special thanks to Corrado Moncada and his team at Yacht Club Marzamemi for hosting us and to Gewiss and Hydrolectric for sponsoring this weekend regatta.

The prize giving ceremony was held last Thursday.