(Gzira, Malta)- As of late Tuesday afternoon, it appears the two leading
J/122 teams from Malta, ARTIE and OTRA VEZ, are leading the race both
IRC Overall and IRC Class 4! The teams are about halfway around the
spectacular 608nm course– a rigorous anti-clockwise loop around Sicily
that introduces numerous “corners” that present challenging and complex
meteorological shifts. The route includes passing by the Aeolian and
Egadi Islands, as well as Pantelleria and Lampedusa Islands. One of the
most stunning vistas is Stromboli, the active volcano that is a course
mark. Here are the latest reports from the Rolex Middle Sea Race
website.DAY 3 PM Update 1700 CET Analysis
By Midnight, virtually the entire fleet racing in the Rolex Middle Sea Race had passed through the Straits of Messina, heading for Stromboli, the active volcano that marks the most northerly part of the 608 mile course. As high pressure moved in from the north, the area around Stromboli had virtually no gradient wind and for those yachts yet to reach Stromboli, a south flowing current has slowed proceedings even further. For the competitive offshore yacht racer, performing well in light wind is more difficult than blasting through a storm at top speed.
After two nights at sea, the crew may well be at their lowest energy level for the whole race. The rhythm of offshore life has not been established and the ever changing wind saps energy through numerous sail changes. Concentration also becomes difficult. After the excitement of the start, adrenalin levels are now lower and keeping alert is not as easy. In light airs, losing focus on the helm, or on the sail trim, can be very costly and stalling the boat in little wind makes it difficult to get going again.
Half of this race takes place in the hours of darkness. When the crews are deprived of the sense of sight, spotting changes in the wind on the water becomes difficult but other senses tend to make up for this deficiency. Feeling the breeze on your cheek, sensing the heel of the boat, hearing the sails flap or the bigger wavelets tapping at the hull, these become the prime indicators. The first two days and nights of the Rolex Middle Sea race have not been about surfing down big seas with the salt spray hissing past the wheel, but racing well in light airs is a dark art, and there are plenty of magicians out there.
At Stromboli two Maltese yachts in IRC Class 4, OTRA VEZ and ARTIE were first and second in IRC over the whole fleet. Aaron Gatt Floridia's Maltese J/122 OTRA VEZ was leading the class at Stromboli after time correction and immediately headed south towards the Aeolian Islands. At 0900 CET OTRA VEZ was sailing almost two knots quicker than their Maltese rival, the J/122 ARTIE skippered by Lee Satariano.
Frustrating as it may be for the crews racing on the slower yachts, time is not standing still. In fact, the lack of breeze should be very encouraging. The overall winner of the race could easily be decided by the current weather conditions, a slow start for over half the race with a fast finish for the smaller boats.
DAY 4 AM Update 0900 CET Analysis
The fleet continues to battle the light winds but are making significantly better progress. Boats that have taken a more northern route after passing Stromboli appear to be benefitting from slightly more breeze than those boats along the shore of Sicily.
Floridia's OTRA VEZ may no longer be the overall leader of the race. Their local rivals, Satariano’s J/122 ARTIE, had a very good night. ARTIE passed OTRA VEZ around midnight. OTRA VEZ tacked south and ARTIE covered them from in front and both yachts are now heading for the Sicilian coast, presumably looking to benefit from more wind as the land heats up during today. But for the moment, it looks as though ARTIE has the upper hand.
Perhaps the biggest movers overnight include the other J/122 DAMACLE (skippered by the Italian Roy Caramagno), not more than 10nm behind her sisterships, and the J/133 OILTANKING JUNO (helmed by David Anastasi) and the J/109 JARHEAD (sailed by Greg Nasmyth from Great Britain). Amazingly, all three J/122s are in front of the Volvo 70 MONSTER PROJECT that appears to be stuck along the Sicilian coastline! And, two fast TP52s are all of 30nm in front of them (e.g. getting smoked on IRC handicap time).
DAY 5 AM UPDATE 09:00 CET Analysis
92 yachts are still racing in the Rolex Middle Sea Race. The expected frontal system arrived around Midnight last night at the northwest corner of the course. Reports of storm force winds and big seas have been received by the Race Committee and 25 yachts had officially retired from the race by 15:00 CET on Wednesday 22 October. The Race Committee has received no reports of any injuries to crew from the fleet.
The yachts still racing cracked sheets last night, hitting the turbo, flying downwind at incredible speeds. It will be a blast on board, surfing down waves with the salt spray hissing at the rail and warm water breaking over the bows and cascading down the deck. This speed comes with a price, if the boat loses control or accelerates into the waves too fast, the loads involved can be too much resulting in damage. The saying; 'To finish first, first you must finish.' will be very much the mantra.
IRC 4 Class: By morning, only two yachts in the class had passed Pantelleria, Lee Satariano's J/122, Artie was nearly four hours ahead of Aaron Gatt Floridia's J/122, Otra Vez. Artie is now the clear favorite to win the class and have a real chance of winning the race overall. The majority of the fleet is close to Pantelleria experiencing storm force conditions.
Ross Applebey, co-skipper on a 48-footer called in by satellite phone this morning. “We have two reefs in the main and the storm jib up, we saw 48 knots of wind and we have seen waves of over 20 feet. It is pretty nasty out here and we are most definitely concentrating on keeping everyone safe on board rather than boat speed. However, we surfed down a wave and it was too much for the rudder. It was a sickening sight as half of it appeared out of the back of the boat and for us the race is now over. Although Pantelleria is only a short distance away, we cannot steer towards the harbour there, so we are making are way towards Mazara del Vallo on the Sicilian coast and should be their tonight – absolutely gutted would be an understatement.”
DAY 5 PM UPDATE 1500 CET Analysis
Lee Satariano's Maltese J/122 ARTIE has emerged as the hot favorite to become the overall winner of the 2014 Rolex Middle Sea Race. However, at 16:00 CET, Artie was still 80 miles from the finish and the Mistral storm is still raging. In addition, there are several yachts behind Artie that could still claim the overall prize. On board Artie, Sebastian Ripard spoke to the media team earlier today.
“The waves have been as high as 30 feet and the wind speed often gusting above 40 knots, it has been a really wild ride.” Commented Sebastian. “With the full main and jib top sail, we have been flying along. The game plan has been a mixture of pushing as hard as we can but also protecting the boat, so we have been taking it a bit easier in the big gusts of over 40 knots and then going for it when the wind speed drops a little. All the way to Lampedusa we have been VMG running but when we turn the corner, ARTIE will be on a beam reach and we expect the waves to be crashing into the cockpit. Everybody will be on the rail, head down, hiking out for the final 100 miles. We expect to finish the race late this evening at around midnight.” Find Rolex Middle Sea Race on Facebook For more Rolex Middle Sea Race sailing information
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