The Rolex Middle Sea Race will set off to a start this morning from Valletta’s Grand Harbour, where a spectacle of boats and spinnakers in anticipated.

Eighty nine boats – small and big – are expected to line up at the startline this morning – there will be five starts in all, the first one starting at 11am. The last one, for the big boats, will be at 11.40am.

The Saluting Battery will once again be the base for the start line which will therefore be just outside Fort St Angelo. Having 90 boats is a big record which the organisers, the Royal Malta Yacht Club, are proud of. This number beats the previous record of 78 participants set in 2008. There will be around 1,000 persons taking part on the boats.

Esimit Europa 2 is once again the great favourite to win Line Honours.

Of course, all the participants will be hoping for the last few days’ winds to see them through some really exciting racing.

The Middle Sea Race has a course distance of 606 nautical miles, non-stop, starting and finishing in Malta.

Among those taking part is Arthur Podesta, who is the only seaman who will have taken part in every one of the 33 editions after this year’s event.

Podesta will be racing in his boat Elusive, which is one of nine Maltese boats registered to take part.

Another Maltese boat, RTFX Artie, on which Lee Satariano and Chris Ripard will be defending the title they won last year.

The other Maltese boats and their skippers are Du 4, Jonathan Gambin, GasanMamo Comanche Raider II, Jonas Diamantino/Ramon Sant Hill, Fekruna, Kevin F. Dingli, Oiltanking Juno, David Anastasi, Otra Vez, Aaron Gatt Floridia/Edward Gatt Floridia, Windriven, Per Sahlberg and XP-Act, Josef Schultheis/Paolo Semeraro.

There will be the usual two divisions – Racing and Cruising – as well as two ratings – ORC and IRC. There will also be an Open division.

The course record is held by George David’s Rambler (USA). It was set at 47 hours 55 minutes and three seconds in 2007.