Living on small miniscule islands renders one to being a very minor citizen on the international scale of things. HOWEVER, there is always the enormous sensual and mental satisfaction of being involved and being a part of all that happens around you.
Let me explain this. If you are in the British Isles and there is an international yacht race starting from Aberdeen while you are living in London, great to know but you are not a part of it. Malta and Gozo are so small you are PERFORCE a part of everything which happens because everything is in touching distance and is a part of you and your every-day life.
As detailed in my previous article, Saturday, 18th October will be a hectic day of activities around capital city Valletta and throughout Malta with a massed band, fireworks and exhibitions to celebrate the UNESCO award made late last year that Malta’s festive activities throughout the year qualify as an Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Great, and so – is that all for that weekend of 18th and 19th October?
Far, far from it!
As I have always written, the Maltese Islands never, ever stand still and that weekend – also on Saturday, 18th – a start will be given to a more important and most prestigious international world yacht race from Malta’s Grand Harbour, an event which this year has attracted 117 different sail racing yachts and their international and mixed gender crews from all over the world.
This is the Rolex Middle Sea Race, an event which has made its way into the top ten international yacht racing events worldwide.
The first-ever race was initiated in 1968 and developed almost like a momentous fairy story. After Independence from Britain in 1964, Malta began to develop its yachting facilities and drew a number of British small yacht owners to take a Malta berth alongside Maltese yacht owners.
Two British yachtsmen, Alan Green residing in Malta and having a berthed yacht, together with Jimmy White, a keen yachtsman and stationed in Malta with the Royal Navy, were enjoying a quiet drink at the Royal Malta Yacht Club and were joined by Maltese yachting brothers Paul and John Ripard.
They conceived the idea of an intriguing and competitive yacht race from Malta to Syracuse in one year and Syracuse to Malta the next and the race would be in the Autumn/Winter period.
On a day in December 1968, only eight starters sailed out of the Grand Harbour for the first-ever race, including Stella Polare, owned by Italian Admiral Bernotti, and the Dutch boat Stormvogel owned by Bruynzeel and were considered to be the hot boats of the day. Yet it was the Maltese boat Josian, of John Ripard, which won the first-ever title of the Middle Sea Race!
From that humble start, the race grew in popularity and increased in distance, the race always being anti-clockwise and each year the number of entrants grew and grew and became more international. To make it more interesting the course was increased from Malta to Syracuse, around Sicily and back to Malta, covering 606 nautical miles.
By the end of the 1990s it had become so internationally popular that from 2021 onward it began being sponsored and is now known as the Rolex Middle Sea Race.
Its route now is from Valletta to Capo Passero, the Messina Strait, Stromboli, Favignana, Pantelleria, and Lampedusa and back to the Grand Harbour.
The race records were established in 2021, the Outright Race record being 33 hours 29 minutes 28 seconds set by Jason Carroll’s MOD 70 Argo (USA) and the Monohull Race record is 40 hours 17 minutes 50 seconds set by the 100 foot / 30.5 metre Comanche (CAY).
Cannons on the Upper Barrakka Gardens bastion in Valletta will fire off the start on Saturday, 19th October at 16.00 and for more information, Click here for Rolex Middle Sea details or contact the Royal Malta Yacht Club, the cradle of the race.
Ok so, who cares for band marches, fireworks, processions and yacht racing because of and what food is what you care for. On the same evening of 19th October and all within walking distance of the other two events, Valletta is set for the return of the Valletta Local Food Festival, offering a dynamic kitchen and local culture.
Food lovers will be able to sample different food tastes prepared by talented cooks and their use of local preparation customs. The festival will be held in the picturesque Valletta Design Cluster from 6.00 pm to 11.00 pm and will continue on Sunday, 20th between 10.00 am and 5.00 pm and will offer a vibrant atmosphere to please all.
The Artistic Director of the Valletta Local Food Festival Charles Bone said this will be a culinary and gastronomic voyage available to all to experience the creativity and passion of local cooks in presenting diverse menus and tastes.
Cook Ronnie Caruana will present sweets and desserts and visitors can enjoy local beers, cheese and olive oil. There will also be live music, Maltese artistic talents and a workshop by Malta Accelerate for new companies in agricultural food development.
For this, further information may be obtained on vca.gov.mt and the VCA Facebook Page.
Need I say it again – never a dull moment in the Maltese Islands!
By Albert Fenech, our Malta correspondent, via Horsted Keynes
