| Esimit Europa 2 Line
Honours winner. |
| By the Rolex Middle Sea Race Media Team. |
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| Photos by
Rene Rossignaud, Alan Carville,
Kurt Arrigo
and Carlo Borlenghi
for Rolex.
Page edited By Peter Andrews. |
| October 25, 2010. |
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| At 18 hours, 32 minutes and 32 seconds CEST on Monday, the Rolex Middle Sea Race committee signaled the finish and a line honors victory for Esimit Europa 2 (SLO), in Marsamxett Harbour. The 100-foot maxi’s elapsed time was 2 days, 6 hours, 52 minutes and 32 seconds. |
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Igor Simcic's Esimit Europa 2, taking out Line Honours - crossing
the finish line at 18:32:32 for the 31st Rolex Middle Sea
Race.
Photo © Rolex /
Rene Rossignaud.
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Dockside at Grand Harbour, owner and project manager Igor Simcic was presented with a Rolex Yacht-Master timepiece, by Malcolm Lowell Jr. from Edwards’ Lowell. Simcic was also presented with the R.L.R. Line Honours Trophy, by Royal Malta Yacht Club Commodore, Georges Bonello DuPuis.
"It was quite a slow race in the first part," said Esimit’s skipper Flavio Favini while Recapping the race. "But then towards the coast of Sicily, the wind started to increase. The first difficult part was entering the Strait of Messina because at that moment, there was very light wind and it was very difficult to get in. But then after a while, the current helped and we were able to manage quite well and leave the Strait quite fast." |
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Line Honours Presentation, L-R: Georges Bonello DuPuis (RMSR Commodore),
Igor Simcic (owner of Esimit Europa 2) and Malcolm Lowell Jr.
from Edwards' Lowell Georges Bonello Dupuis, Commodore Royal Malta Yacht
Club.
Photo © Rolex / Rene Rossignaud.
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Esimit led from the race start in Grand Harbour and managed to keep putting distance on Leopard until some 25 miles from the Strait of Messina, where the maxi stopped in a hole and their speed dropped away to zero. Leopard closed the gap, but soon found themselves in the same hole.
According to navigator Tiziano Nava, Esimit managed to restart and regain ground. "We restarted and Leopard stayed stopped, probably there was some current against them. We gained a lot of miles at that point. For the rest of the race, we sailed pretty well, we made the right sail changes: the wind changed, the angle changed, all the time we had the right sails, so we could produce maximum target speeds, all the time." |
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Igor Simcic's Esimit Europa 2, during the 31st Rolex Middle Sea Race.
Photo © Rolex / Rene Rossignaud.
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"Quite a large area around Sicily was light to very light wind, so quite complicated, because it was difficult not to stop in a wind hole," said Favini. "Towards the Egadi Islands we had some sirocco winds, which helped the boat to accelerate. But then it changed very quickly from the sirocco to the mistral, not too strong, but good enough to move well. The second part of the race was in fact very nice, with a nice breeze and fast."
The most wind Esimit saw was about 23 knots between Lampedusa and Malta. The maxi sailed 23 knots, with one reef in the main and a genoa staysail, later changing back up to a full main.
About their win, Favini reflected on how they achieved it. "It’s really not an easy one, full of tricks; it’s really a great race. We do not know how we will end up in handicap. We can’t do anything more, just wait. If the wind picks up the small boats will win; if it drops, we might do well. For us the big challenge was against Leopard, who won Line Honours last year here, but has also won the Rolex Fastnet Race, so it’s not an easy boat to beat, because it is a very good boat. But I think in these light winds, we had an advantage with our boat. If it had been a very windy race, we don’t know."
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Mike Slade's Farr 100 ICAP Leopard arriving in Marsamxett Harbour, during the
Rolex Middle Sea Race 2009.
Photo © Rolex /
Alan Carville.
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Esimit Europa 2 has had a successful first season taking line honours at the Giraglia Rolex Cup, winning the Maxi class at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, and line honours at the Barcolana Race.
"This race is much different from the other races," said owner Igor Simcic about Esimit’s Rolex Middle Sea Race win. "It’s very important, very difficult, and winning this race ahead of Leopard is a good message, that we are doing our job seriously, that we are preparing ourselves to the maximum, and that we are thinking of the future. We must be perfect today, to have a chance tomorrow to take another important step." |
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Igor Simcic's Esimit Europa 2, during the 31st Rolex Middle Sea Race.
Photo © Rolex /
Kurt Arrigo.
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Going forward next year, Esimit Europa 2’s program will be the same schedule of regattas, as well as entering the Transpac Race, and the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. Simcic said, "We want to give this message very clearly, of all Europeans on the same boat, and with the results we are confirming that it the only way to achieve European goals."
This year’s weather conditions, lighter than forecast in the speed department, were not conducive to knocking off the course record. Esimit’s time was seven hours outside of the course record set by George David’s Rambler (USA) of 47 hours, 55 minutes, and 3 seconds in 2007. |
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George David’s Rambler, crossing the finish line and breaking the
Rolex Middle Sea Race record in 2007.
Photo © Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi.
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The race fleet can be tracked online at www.rolexmiddlesearace.com/tracker/#tracker.
The final prize giving is at 12.00pm on Saturday, 30 October at the Mediterranean Conference Center in Valletta.
For more information about the Rolex Middle Sea Race 2009 including the entry list, position reports and results please visit www.rolexmiddlesearace.com. |
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| Outimage and Rolex © 2010 |
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