Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/742473
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 26 OCTOBER 2016 20 Sport SPORTTODAY SAILING - MIDDLE SEA RACE GEORGE David's American Maxi, Ram- bler 88, crossed the finish line of the 2016 Rolex Middle Sea Race at the Royal Malta Yacht Club to take Monohull Line Honours at 02:18:26 CET on Tuesday 25th October in an elapsed time of 02 days 14 hours 03 minutes 26 seconds. George David and the Rambler 88 crew were welcomed to the club by Godwin Zammit, Commodore of the Royal Malta Yacht Club. Rambler 88 Crew: George David, Erle Williams, Brad Jackson, Rodney Ardern, Joca Signorini, Andrew Cape, Silvio Ar- rivabene, Josh Belsky, Lorenzo Mazza, Will McCarthy, Stu Wilson, Dean Phipps, Na- than Hislop, Mark Newbrook, Joe Fanelli, Jerry Kirby, Scott Beavis, Curtis Blewett, Brian Giorgio, Robbie Naismith Rambler 88, took Line Honours in the Rolex Middle Sea Race for the second year in succession. The light winds of the first 24 hours meant that the Monohull and, in- deed, outright, race record of 1 day 23 hours 55 minutes and 3 seconds, set by George David in 2007, in a previous Rambler, re- mains intact for another year. It was a tough race for the Rambler 88 crew, mentally rather than physically. There were several transition zones in the wind to be outwitted in order to secure the lead. And, the quality and depth of the in- ternational fleet was such that Rambler 88 could never afford to relax during the race. The Danish Volvo 70, Trifork, helmed by Bouwe Bekking was the main protagonist, nipping at the heels of Rambler 88 and, at one stage, briefly taking pole position. The Rambler 88 crew reacted well to the pres- sure, never panicking, staying focused and eventually pulling away in the second half of the race to beat her closest rival by five hours. There is all to play for in the Rolex Middle Sea Race. When Trifork crossed the finish line, she overtook Rambler in the overall corrected time standings, setting the cur- rent bar for the remaining yachts racing to beat. The best yacht under IRC time correction will be awarded the Rolex Middle Sea Tro- phy and a coveted Rolex timepiece. "The story of the race was that we had a couple of big shut downs in the breeze," commented George David, once ashore in Malta. "The first was near Messina before the strait and the second one was right around Stromboli. Each time the breeze just shut down and the fleet behind sailed into us. We were all parked together and had to restart. And we restarted at least twice." "I would say this race was more frustrat- ing than our previous ones. I've rarely seen compression as we had it those two times east of Messina and off Stromboli. I'm pret- ty confident the eventual results will show that we won the race clearly from Palermo to Malta and that we lost the race clearly from Malta to Palermo. It was effectively two races." On the race generally: "The Rolex Mid- dle Sea Race is always fun. This is the most beautiful racecourse in the world and that is a fact. The islands on a clear day are spec- tacular and Stromboli always erupts a little bit. We keep coming back because of the beauty of Malta, the hospitality of the peo- ple, the scenic views on the racecourse, and the wind which can be great and which can be frustrating." "This crew has been together a long time and they have been through some tough times. A half dozen were with me in 2007 in this race, and maybe seven were with us in Ireland (in the 2011 Rolex Fastnet Race) when the 100 foot boat went upside down. So it is a very steady group, it is a quiet group, nobody raises his voice at all. We work well together and there is a lot of ca- maraderie and teamwork. It is part of the joy of sailing to have a good group to do it with." "When conditions are like they were in this race, we have two helmsmen in par- ticular who seem to like it when the boat is going 0.00. I don't like it. Typically, I go away somewhere, it's not for me! When I saw Trifork come up to us in Stromboli I was a little concerned. Nobody ever gets angry or upset, but you do wonder how it can happen." About why he enjoys sailing: "It is a fun, challenging sport partly because of the ele- ment of luck. You can do all the preparation you want, all the strategy, planning, organ- isation, preparation, teamwork, training, design, materials, building … everything you can name but sometimes there is an element of luck. I don't mind it. It is part of the game." Rambler 88 takes Monohull Line honours Rambler 88 arriving in Malta. Photo by Rolex/Kurt Arrigo George David was awarded a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master in Rolesium by Malcolm Lowell of Edwards Lowell, Malta. Photo by Rolex/Kurt Arrigo