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MT 29 July 2018

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29 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 JULY 2018 SPORTS SAILING Royal Malta Yacht Club hosts 58th Edition of classic Malta - Syracuse Race THE 58th edition of the Mal- ta - Syracuse Race, hosted by the Royal Malta Yacht Club and the Lega Navale Italiana (Sezione Siracusa) saw a fleet of nearly forty boats leave the start line just outside Mar- samxett Harbour. Dating back to the sixties, this race is the oldest race on the Club's calen- dar and always attracts a good number of boats. The start of the 85 nautical mile race alter- nates each year, one year start- ing from Malta and the next starting from Syracuse. Typically, Sicilian boats make up most of the fleet, however Maltese boats do join in to make the most of the oppor- tunity to compete against in- ternational crews. The race always combines an interest- ing mix of past and present, receiving crews whose names have been on this race's fleet list for a number of years and welcoming into the fold new names and faces. Names like that of Alberto Piazza are thoroughly familiar, having raced on this circuit for many years on boats like Spirit of Shardana and Nautilus. This year Piazza raced on Meltem. His infinite knowledge of Mal- tese and Sicilian waters was put into the test which he passed with flying colours having won the Overall ORC and Gran Crociera Categories. Amongst the fleet was Massimo Savoca's Dreamer Tech, current record course holder. The weather gods seem to want to keep the current record, which was established in 2014, firmly in place. From the local side, amongst the participants, Club Commodore Godwin Zammit (Inspiration) continued to add another edition of this race to his racing CV. This year saw a slow start in light north-easterly winds, where all boats headed towards a windward mark followed by a straight route towards Syra- cuse. As predicted light con- ditions persisted throughout the day and the wind dropped completely at sunset for about two hours, testing the patience of the fleet. As forecasted, a new wind from the west filled in enabling the fleet to resume good progress towards Capo Passero and up along the coast. Closer to Capo Murro di Porco the wind veered back to the north-east and the fleet had to beat the last 15 miles to the finish off Syracuse. The leading group of eight boats finished between 8:40 and 9:00hrs on Sunday morn- ing. The first to claim line hon- ours was Maurizio Mancuso's Ottovolante, another regular participant of this race. He crossed the finish line in Syra- cuse at 08.41hrs after 22 hours of racing. The remaining boats followed throughout the rest of the morning with the last boat finishing at 13.10hrs. The Prize Giving was held at the Lega Navale in Porto Pic- colo on the Sunday Evening. The Club would like to thank Peter Dimech, Race Officer and the Race Management Team composed of Richard Dennis, Edward Gatt Floridia, John Horn, Clive Phillips, An- na Rossi and Paul Warren. 58th Malta – Syracuse Race Results 1st - Squalo Bianco (Concetto Costa) 2nd – Inspiration (Godwin Zammit) 3rd – Time Out (Mario Sant) ORC Regata-Crociera A 1st - Ottovolante (Maurizio Mancuso) 2nd - Safran Rouge (Oliviero Emaldi) 3rd - Skin (Giovanni Pavia) ORC Regata-Crociera B 1st - Capitani Coraggiosi (Federico Arcucci) 2nd - Squalo Bianco (Concetto Costa) 3rd - Inspiration (Godwin Zammit) ORC Gran Crociera A: 1st - Meltem (Alberto Piazza) 2nd - Duc in Altum (Francesco Giacalone) 3rd - Isola (Alessia Di Trapani) ORC Gran Crociera B: 1st -San Mary (Roberto Galli) 2nd - Mayda (Luigi Consoli) 3rd - Mizzica (Giuseppe Petrolito) Aussie Wendy Tuck becomes first woman to win round-the-world yacht race AUSTRALIA'S Wendy Tuck became the first female skipper to win a round-the-world yacht race, after clinching overall victory in the Clipper 2017-18 event. Tuck and her Sanya Serenity Coast team started the 13th and final round of the race at the top of the leaderboard and did enough to finish ahead of the 10 other teams. Thousands of fans watched the teams return to Liverpool, nearly a year after 12 yachts left the city. "I can't believe it. It hasn't really sunk in really but I am just so happy," the 53-year-old Tuck said. "I don't think it's about being a woman. I just do what I do. But I am very proud and even prouder of my team. They are the ones that did all the work and considering many had never sailed before, what they have accomplished is incred- ible." British sailor Nikki Hender- son, the youngest ever Clip- per race skipper at 25, came second with the Visit Seattle team on the back of their four podiums over the last year. Clipper Race founder and chairman Robin Knox-John- ston, the first person to sail solo and non-stop around the world, was delighted with a first ever female one-two fin- ish. "The impact of the success of both Wendy and Nikki cannot be underestimated," he said. "If this gets even one more girl to start sailing and dream- ing big, then I'll consider eve- rything we have done over the last 11 months a huge success." Over 700 sailors representing 41 nationalities were involved in the in the 40,000 nautical mile race, the event's 11th edition.

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