A record entry of eighty-three yachts lined up in the historic Grand Harbour of Malta for the start of the 33rd edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race ( RMSR). This race has become the most prestigious long offshore race in the Mediterranean and at par with the Rolex Fastnet and Rolex Sydney Hobart races. Xp-act Banks Sails Racing finished 3rd overall in both IRC and ORCi and first in Class 3 in both categories.
Timmy Camilleri (X-Yachts Malta) together with Josef Schultheis, organized the preparation of the boat and just managed to get her in the water the week before the race. The experienced crew sailed together a couple of times prior to start of the RMSR but immediately gelled and their potential was evident. After a very good start in 12 knots of SE wind Xp-act Banks Sails Racing (BSR) was soon in the lead of Class 3. The 50 Nm leg across to Sicily was quite straight forward but on reaching the Sicilian coast the wind dropped, as was forecast, and from then on it became crucial to keep the boat moving and in the breeze as much as possible. With Jochem Visser as navigator, Paolo Semeraro ( Co-Skipper - Banks Sails Italy) on tactics and with local knowledge provided by Timmy Camilleri (seventeen times a participant in RMSR and four times winner ) and Sebastian Ripard (Malta’s 49er crew and winner of one RMSR ), Xp-act BSR was always up with the front runners of the fleet and in the top three positions on corrected time. The passage through the dreaded Messina Straits went well.The first trying task was sailing round the active volcano Stromboli in very light down wind conditions. At this point, Xp-act BSR was in fifth place overall but from then on with a good strategy and hard work from all the crew, we managed to move up to second place at the next two check points, with Artie, a J122 (overall winner in 2011), ahead and Hi-Fidelity a Wellbourne 46 from South Africa just behind on corrected time. The penultimate 90 mile leg between the islands of Pantelleria and Lampedusa was crucial for Xp-act BSR and with some fantastic routing from Jochem Visser she managed to keep in the breeze for a changeover of weather fronts. Despite having to beat the final 40 miles in 10 knots of wind, Xp-act BSR was first on corrected time with a two hour “cushion” on Hi-Fidelity at Lampedusa. The last leg to Malta was expected to be a 100 mile fetch in 10 – 12 knots and easy for Xp-act BSR to keep her time. However, one can never be complacent in the Mediterranean in October and in fact that night Xp-act BSR was hit by a huge thunder storm with torrential rain and winds ranging from 40 to 45 knots for one hour. At the time Xp-act BSR had the Code zero up and a full main. Thanks to the skill and experience of the crew we managed to get the Code zero down with no damage but due to the ferocity of the wind had to keep running with the storm for about forty-five minutes at 13 knots in the wrong direction!
