The fastest trio fought a thrilling three-way battle in the 606 nautical mile classic Rolex Middle Sea Race. It was won by the speedy Maxi "Comanche" with a marvellous final sprint. The reward: a new race record of just 40 hours, 17 minutes and 50 seconds. This beat the existing record by an incredible seven and a half hours. Experts agree that the new record will be difficult to beat in the foreseeable future. In the hands of skipper Mitch Booth and an experienced international crew of professionals, the "Comanche" team prevailed over its co-favourite rival "Skorpios" and George David's "Rambler".
"Skorpios" had been leading the race until her team got stuck in a wind hole caused by a huge rain cloud. Former Volvo Ocean Race sailor Neil McDonald, part of the crew led by Spaniard Fernando Echevarri, reported: "That cost us 30 nautical miles. We went in with a lead of twelve nautical miles over them (ed.: "Comanche") and left with seven or eight nautical miles behind them, which quickly became 20. It was humiliating! We flapped around and stopped. I saw 0.01 knots..."
The "Comanche" crew was able to overtake the ClubSwan 125 parked to the east with ease. "We then thought it would be better to cover them for the remaining section to the finish, but when the breeze picked up again, we were able to extend our lead," reports "Comanche" coordinator Mitch Booth. Australian high-flyer Tom Slingsby also took part for the first time in the race, which was full of pressure for long periods and saw two spinnakers break on "Comanche", including one after a not harmless sun shot. The Laser Olympic champion, America's Cup winner, current Moth World Champion and SailGP dominator enjoyed his debut on the victorious boat: "I loved being part of the crew on 'Comanche' in this Middle Sea Race! We took the line honours and broke the race record. I have watched this boat in awe over the years. I was thrilled to now have the opportunity to sail her myself. It's a great boat with a great crew!" While the race for the smaller boats is still underway, the new record holder "Comanche" is also leading the IRC rankings by calculated time. Maximilian Klink's boat 52 "Caro" was in eighth place here on Tuesday morning.
A total of 114 yachts from 25 nations are competing in this year's popular long-distance race. The multihull record was also beaten. Jason Carroll's MOD70 "Argo" had already secured the new record at the weekend with just 33 hours, 29 minutes and 28 seconds, beating the existing record by around 23 hours. Six German boats also took part in this year's race, which has been organised by the Royal Malta Yacht Club since 1968. Click here for the Starter list (please click!). And here it goes to the Intermediate results and results (please click!).
