Rolex Middle Sea Race day 1 – Heikens’ birthday!

October 19, 2014

At 10.50h 123 yachts were behind the start line in the Grand Harbour. All of a sudden it was not so ‘Grand’ any more. There was very little wind and a lot of disturbed water after the starting canon fired high above us on the old Harbour wall.
Every yacht needs some luck now and then, this was our moment of luck. We found a patch of wind which brought us out of the Harbour and onto the sea. We were the third yacht out. In holland we have a saying ‘a good start is half the work’. However, this is Malta.
There were two laid marks in front of the coast and then we headed up to the Sicilian coast. We were very delighted by the conditions 8-12 knots of wind, the relentless Mediterranean sun, spirits were high. Discussions were already going on the rail that we could get used to these conditions very easy……
Sailing on a reach with our number 1 kite up, we settled into our watch system.

During the evening we encountered our first of Sicilian challenges. Just (south) west of Sicily there was a big park up. Many yachts were caught in a wind hole and were not going anywhere. This is one of the privileges of being a slower yacht, seeing this on the AIS system we negotiated (more or less) around this area with no wind. Temperatures during the night were pleasant, shorts and shirts. At midnight we had a pleasant surprise, one of our crew turned 38. A cake and candles were brought out on deck and we enjoyed a small party.

So all in all we had a good first 24 hours of racing. Winsome is doing well as is her crew. The next 24 hours will be Winsome’s Odyssey. Keep you posted

Bon vents,
Joost