Russians win Middle Sea Race

Published on October 25th, 2017

Valletta, Malta (October 25, 2017) – Igor Rytov’s Russian-crewed JPK 10.80 Bogatyr has been declared the IRC overall winner of the 38th Rolex Middle Sea Race. Bogatyr, who also claimed Class 6 honors, is believed to be the first Russian yacht to the classic 606 nm offshore races.

Rytov is an accomplished sailor, but is a recent convert to offshore yacht racing. He campaigns a Melges 20 with great success on the international circuit and a number of his Melges crew were with him on this race.

“I sailed as a young boy in Moscow, but only started racing again four years ago,” advises Rytov. “This is the second time we have competed in the Rolex Middle Sea Race and we have also competed in the last two Rolex Fastnet Races. We try to sail the boat as fast and as hard as we can, pushing all the time. We knew we had a chance when we started the last leg of the race, and that gave us the energy for the final night.”

Race details – Entrants – Results – Tracker – Facebook

Course: 104 yachts started from Grand Harbour on October 21, with their course leaving to port the Island of Sicily, the Aeolian Islands (including Strombolicchio), the Egadi Islands (except Marettimo Island), Pantelleria and Lampedusa Islands, through the South Comino Channel, keeping Malta to starboard, to the finish line in Marsamxett Harbour. The Islands of Ustica, Linosa and Lampione are not marks of the course. The length of the course is approximately 606 nautical miles. The Course Record, established by “Rambler” in 2007, is 1day, 23hours, 55mins 3secs.