Rolex Middle Sea Race 2013 - Windriven race report - we did it

This year the goal was clear for the Team Windriven in the SimonisVoogd designed Dehler 34SV - We want to finish Rolex Middle Sea Race

Last year we had to abandon the race half the way from Siciliy to Pantelleria due to too many water sprouts and thunder storms.

Expectations were high when we woke up saturday morning. Forecasts were very good. No thunderstorms as far as forecasts can predict. 

Our starting group. We have positioned ourselves to the left in the picture. (right side of the starting line)

 Our group was 44 boats and race committee decided to split it in two halfs and we were in the first group to start. We were one of the smallest boats in the fleet.

 This is really an event. Already 2 hours before the first start people has started to gather on the best positions. Tourist buses transported people to the starting area. Good feeling.

 The battery in Valetta was used for starting us. Really spectactular frame for the start.

The two Simonis Voogd designs Dehler 34SV and Pacer 376 in the start.

 The canon was fired and off we go. We hoisted the Code 1 just before the start to be prepared to roll it out. The winddirection was to narrow and the J-111 Black did a broach just in front of us. Probably just for the show but we let it be.

When we came to the first rounding just outside the harbour inlet the kids in Neil Borgs Club had filled four ribs with kids and parents. They followed us all the way to second rounding and cheered:

 - Go Windriven Go!!!

What a start of the race. Fantastic feeling and good spirit.

The race is 605NM long and can easily take a full week to complete if the winds are light.

Messina straight is one of the critical passages and to go close to Italy is one rule of thumb. The current in Messina is driven by the tide and if the wind is light you can easily get stuck.

Windriven entering the Messina Straight.

 Per Sahlberg got stuck one year when he sailed on a X-40. They lost many hours here. We had a fantastic timing this year and entered the straight when the current started to flow from the south. We left the messina straight 30 min before it was going to turn flowing from the north.

 We saw, like last year, that the other got hooked up at Stromboli and we had good wind around 20knots. Can we do it again? Last year we were second in the whole fleet after Stromboli. This year we really have to gain somewhere. After the first passage from Sicily we were 40th of 46 boats. After Messina on place 32.
Rounding Stromboli is another tricky thing. Many boats, to avoid the windhole behind Stromboli, went far north. After a discussion we decided that our chance to pick up was to go close as we did last year. Last year we were laying still just for maybe 20-30minutes. We did it again. Just a short messy period and we passed close to the island. We rounded Stromboli as boat #19. Good gain.

 Late afternoon it was time to start to beat towards Palermo. We can now see that the others had parked ahead of us. All are laying on line and are stuck. We decided to not do the same mistake as we did last year - to come too far out from the coast. All of a sudden from nowhere comes one Open 40 and a Salona 37. I manage to pass the Open 40 first and then the Salona.
The Salona we had to pass two times as we got caught by a line to a fishing bouy. Now a really strange things happened.

 The wind drops to nearly nothing and the Salona hoist their Code 1. They start to move and we prepare to do the same. Then they stop in a wind hole. All of a sudden takes a current Windriven and we move out from land in 1-1.5 knots. With no wind we cannot do anything. The Salona tries it best with Code 1 but it does not fly. It is only us that are in the current. Strange it is only us that are moving.
We hoist the Code 1 and the current must create some apperent wind. Can we generate wind ourself?
Caroline on the sheet and me on the rudder and off we go. When wind drops totally I have to follow down to not stop and all of a sudden we go 90degres to were we started.
Finally we get out the trap and we can hooist the spinnaker.

 The others went further out and when we are close to Palermo we meet the J-122 Artie-Rtfx and other really big boats. This is gooood feeling!!!
We have caught up the whole fleet.
The wind turns now more and more to the south and and we have to tack all night to pass Trapani. When the bigger boats ahead of us get stuck we tack. The night feels like we do very good.

 When we pass Favignana we are number 11. A fantastic race so far.

 Our fourth day becomes a waterline leg to Pantelleria. Wind around 15 knots and only one tack. We pass and are now number 10.

 We prepare for a long nights beat. 84 NM nerly in the nose with high sea. We decide on a best VMG strategy and stay on closest tack to Lampedusa. With 25-30 NM left we get a header and tack. The wind continues to turn and we must let the sheets out to not miss Lampedusa. The wind turns back and all of a sudden we are close sheeted again. We get a lift and reach now Lampedusa almost on the spot.
We round Lampedusa the next day and are now still number 10 in our group of 46 boats.
From Lampedusa we hoist the Code 1 and it is possible to do around 7 knots in 8 knots wind. Fantastic to return to Malta on a reach. We do our best but behind the south straight there is no wind.

 Neil Borg at the helm.

The sun rise for the last time and the wind is terribly light. When we come closer to Valetta we discover there is no wind at all. It takes us 3 hours to finnish and it feels terrible to loose time in the end of the race.

 In the harbour there is absolutely no wind. Together with us we have 3 other boats that we took at last.
We finnish 20th but we did it.

The Windriven Team Claudio Bugeja, Anders Nilsson, Damon Laws, Per Sahlberg, Filippo Ciadamidaro, Neil Borg, Caroline Webb, Matthew Cachia Zammit