Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1210197
20 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 12 FEBRUARY 2020 YACHTING SPORTS THE Royal Malta Yacht Club's first sailing event for 2020 was a coastal cruise held on Satur- day. The 12-strong Cruisers' fleet, the largest to date, enjoyed a tranquil sail from Marsamxett Harbour towards Munxar Car- dinal Mark and back. Light weather conditions on the day resulted in the cruise being a sedate affair with only three boats managing to make the time limit for the day. In the RMYC Rated Boats cat- egory it was August Rush that finished the race, whilst in the IRC Category, Aaron and Ed- ward Gatt Floridia's Otra Vez finished first followed by Ilgo- nis Balodis' Aziza. Nevertheless, it was smiles all around as crews made it to the Yacht Club for après sail beers and banter. Experienced sailors Daniel Fenech, Zach Zammit and Karl Miggiani, racing on Dods, took it upon themselves to use the Coastal Cruise as an introduc- tion to sailing for three new crew members – Rachel Borg, Sean Fenech and Rachel Vella Fenech who all really got into the swing of things. Daniel Fenech commented "Sailing on board Dods was a blast, it was so nice to see so many cruisers out on the wa- ter, and though it was a cruise, there was still an element of competition which we all thor- oughly enjoyed. We are looking forward to the next event!" Similar sentiments were shared by Comanche Raider III crew members Ramon Sant Hill, Daniel Bartolo and Mark Muscat joined the Serious Fun crew. Owned by Jan Versteeg and Sally Jackson, this was this boat's first foray in the Club's event. Joining there were Kurt Camilleri and Paul Masters who all found this cruise to be an excellent opportunity to get into the RMYC Sailing scene and are looking forward to the next event. Regular cruiser Ferdinand Grech, who took part on Kon Tiki, was pleased to see a size- able fleet, and strongly en- couraged all cruising boats to take part in this short, fun yet friendly race. Racing experience is irrele- vant in these events, it is all about spending a nice after- noon amongst like minded souls, continued Grech. "The main objective of these Cruises is to attract more Cruis- ers to Club events. With most of the racing boats on the hard, it was good to see quite a few rac- ing sailors hop on board some of the cruising boats to join in the fun" explained Peter Di- mech, Rear Commodore (Sail- ing), Royal Malta Yacht Club. Coastal Cruise launches Royal Malta Yacht Club's 2020 race calendar