The 2025 Rolex Middle Sea Race is now over 24 hours in. On the plus side there has been no repeat of last year’s heinous first night, and the fleet is making steady progress. Overnight the forecast low pressure moved through the course area, but further south than originally feared and with less ferocity. Still, all competitors were subject to regular soakings in frequent, heavy downpours. With a principally northeasterly flow, it has been a prolonged beat up towards Messina with plenty of tacks and sail changes to keep crews on their toes. Yachts are spread out from Acireale, southeast of Mount Etna on Sicily’s eastern coast, to a point north of Cefalù, along the rhumb line between Strombolicchio and Favignana. Black Jack 100 leads on the water by some 30 nautical miles from Balthasar, with the first multihull, Allegra, a further 30nm back. In the race for overall victory under IRC time correction, only four yachts have passed the volcanic transit of Stromboli. At this point, Balthasar leads, with Black Jack just under an hour behind, and Daguet 5 a further two hours in arrears.
After yesterday’s relatively stress-free start from Grand Harbour, the 117 competing yachts worked their way north to Sicily in a predominantly easterly wind. A relatively easy-looking fetch saw competitors headed as they reached the halfway point, but with sufficient breeze to make the passage past Capo Passero a straight-forward affair. Most boats stuck close to the Sicilian shore on the route north, with only Kranendonk, the Chinese entry, making a bold move offshore. Coming back to the fleet abeam of Augusta, the VO65 split away again and continued to make good ground, successfully negotiating the notorious Messina Strait and slipping into the Tyrrhenian Sea at 1000 CEST this morning, just behind Django Deer from Italy. An impressive piece of sailing by the crew of largely first -timers.
Black Jack, meanwhile, had trailed Allegra to the southern tip of Sicily. Trading tacks in the darkness between Avola and Capo Murro di Porco, the maxi monohull eventually broke ahead of the multihull. Driving north at a steady 11 – 12 knots, the crew headed direct for the toe of Italy and appears to have held the mainland shore of the Messina Strait all the way through, exiting at 0336 CEST. An untroubled double-digit cruise to Stromboli followed, reaching the conical landmass at just before 0700. Progress west has been steady, rather than breath-taking with 70nm still to go before the turn south. Tristan Le Brun, the skipper of Black Jack, took the time to report in: “We are just passing Stromboli. It has been a very good race and so far, everything is going well. We are having a good time leading the fleet. We are also catching up in corrected time, which is going better and better for us, so we’ll keep pushing hard.”
There have been several standout performances so far. Balthasar, in IRC 1, has made short order of the course so far, and has established a strong grip on her class. Working hard to stem the losses on the water to Black Jack, Louis Balcaen and his crew held an hour lead on time correction over the larger maxi at Stromboli. French yacht Daguet 5, racing in IRC 2, was the third monohull through Messina and around Stromboli, well ahead of several, more powerful IRC 1 rivals. Elusive 2, the Maltese entry, is further back but making stellar advances along the course and held the overall lead under IRC at the Capo Passero and Messina transit lines. The crossing to Stromboli has slowed through the day, and any advantage gained to date may prove difficult to hold. Salpare, from New Zealand, has also taken the first few tests of the race in her stride, leading IRC 3 through the Messina Strait just before midday, and only 38 seconds behind the Bulgarian entry Aboat Time under IRC.
Campbell Field reported in from Salpare, this morning: “It’s been a long, wet night and dawn couldn’t come soon enough. We’ve been working our way up towards the Strait of Messina in light, shifty conditions — two knots one moment, six the next — so it’s been all about patience and keeping the boat moving. Every puff of wind counts.”
“Life on board is good. The crew’s settled into the rhythm of the race — constant trimming, short catnaps, endless cups of coffee. There’s always a quiet sense of purpose; you just focus on the next few hours, not the finish line. This offshore race is about managing the moment and to the next corner rather than all the miles ahead to the finish.”
Overnight the conditions across the north of Sicily look tricky to say the least. Winds look light and shifty, with models agreeing on one thing only – uncertainty. Yachts currently in the breeze may not hold it and face those behind catching up. The reverse is true with yachts ahead extending if breeze reaches them first. Offshore races are often won or lost during the hours of darkness. The ability to stay focused, and to react positively to changes in wind direction or strength with diligence and precision can make a huge difference to the end result.
