The Royal Malta Yacht Club recently held the Yachting Malta Race Week, a busy week of sailing events that included offshore, coastal, dinghy, and women’s races. The event highlighted the wide range of sailing in Malta and the strong passion shown by local sailors. The programme included many different types of races, such as a long-distance race to Licata in Sicily, shorter coastal races, and a Dinghy Ranking Regatta. The Royal Malta Yacht Club also teamed up with Vikings Sailing Club to run Steering the Course, a World Sailing initiative that encourages more women to get involved in sailing.
Licata Race
This offshore race gave crews a good chance to practise for the upcoming Rolex Middle Sea Race. Jonathan Gambin’s Ton Ton Laferla Insurance won clearly, finishing far ahead of the rest. In the Cruisers’ Class, Stella R, skippered by Steve Carter, took first place.
Cruisers’ Coastal Race
Two short coastal races were held over the weekend. Inspiration, sailed by Godwin Zammit, won every race and finished top overall.
SB20 Class
The SB20 fleet had exciting and close racing all week. Matthew Scicluna, with crew Lee Gauci and Fabio Galea, won after a tough battle with Duncan Camilleri’s team, only decided on the final day. Jan Rossi’s team finished third.
Steering the Course
This special event during Race Week focused on giving women a bigger role in sailing, both on the water and in running races. Competitors were split into two groups: Skippers for the more experienced sailors and Crew for those just starting out. In the Skippers group, third place went to Sonja Stellini, second to Renata Fernandez Favaron, and first to Veronika Basalkina. In the Crew group, third was shared between Francesca Borg and Sara Femenia Ribes, second went to Seda Shahmuradyan, and first to Kimberly Engels. Prizes were given by Vikings Sailing Club Commodore Sandra Agius Darmanin, who also led the race team, helped by Michelle Caruana and Tamara Pavlovic.
Dinghy Ranking Regatta
This was the most competitive event of the week. Dinghy sailors from clubs across Malta took part in six races over two days. On Saturday, they faced strong winds and choppy seas from a grigale (north-easterly wind), while Sunday brought lighter, trickier conditions with a south-easterly breeze. The changing weather tested everyone’s sailing skills and made for an exciting weekend.
Closing Ceremony
The week ended with a lively prize-giving at the Royal Malta Yacht Club. The event was led by Commodore Mark Napier and Yachting Malta CEO Michael Mifsud. “Yachting Malta Race Week showed how strong and varied our sailing scene is,” said Mark Napier. “From offshore races to dinghies, and experienced sailors to newcomers through Steering the Course, it was great to see so many people involved. Thanks to Yachting Malta, our volunteers, race teams, and all the clubs who helped make it such a great week.” Michael Mifsud added: “Yachting Malta aims to support all parts of the sport, from junior dinghy sailors to offshore racing, and by helping more women take part through global programmes like Steering the Course. The success of this week shows the great talent and passion in Maltese sailing. We were proud to work with the Royal Malta Yacht Club and Vikings Sailing Club to make it happen.” The Yachting Malta Race Week was held with support from the Malta Sailing Federation.
