Winner confirmed for Middle Sea Race
Published on October 23rd, 2024
The 2024 Rolex Middle Sea Race started on October 19 for the 45th edition of the 606 nm race around Sicily from Malta. Here’s an update on October 23:
At 17:00 CEST today, the winner was announced as the German TP52 Red Bandit, skippered by Carl-Peter Forster. The Royal Malta Yacht Club has confirmed that none of the remaining yachts still racing is able to better Red Bandit’s IRC corrected time.
“It’s almost unbelievable, it would be very satisfying if it comes through,” said Forster ahead of the formal confirmation. “I’m particularly proud of these young people most of whom did not sail a big boat four years ago. They have learned to sail this machine so well, which is pretty, pretty amazing. I’m proud of this group, and how they gel together as a team.
“This was my seventh race. It was the usual amazing, multifaceted Rolex Middle Sea Race. Wind up to 60 knots in a thunderstorm, the fastest Messina Strait crossing thanks to six knots of current with us, the usual light winds, and good boats all around us. Good fighting and competition all the time.”
Red Bandit Crew: Carl-Peter Forster, Bouwe Van Der Weiden, Christian Buck, Frederick Eichhorst, Jacob Meggendorfer, Jesper Radich, Joshua Weber, Max Wentzel, Moritz Troll, Moriz Forster, Nico Jansen, Niklas Schubert, Oliver Oczycz, Sophie von Waldow
The Red Bandit campaign provides a pathway program for young athletes, under the Forstar Offshore Foundation set up by Forster. The foundation enables highly-competitive dinghy sailors and other youth talent to experience and develop as ‘big boat’ offshore racers. With the principal exception of Forster and the highly experienced tactician, Jesper Radich, the crew is under the age of 30.
Following a winning performance at the 2023 Giraglia, the crew suffered the disappointment of retiring with equipment damage from the same year’s Rolex Middle Sea Race. Faced with strong winds and a big sea on the first night of this year’s race, Forster’s thoughts turned to that moment.
“On the first night I was thinking, hopefully the boat would hold,” he explained. “These are delicate boats and in this boat in 43 knots of wind any mistake can break something, the mast or a sail … anything. But no breakage and I think the boat was better prepared.”
Radich added, “The light wind might have looked easy from the outside, but it was not. It was all about making the right calls because the wind was so shifty. Whenever we got a forecast, it was only 50% correct. We really had to interpret which part was correct.
“We had a bit of a hiccup just at Favignana and had to claw our way back. But, overall, I think we came out really well from the light. The upwind is not our strength, I would say that’s our weakness in 20 knots, especially not having a heavy weather jib. We were struggling, and the guys did an amazing job hiking the boat down for 16 hours a day.”
Red Bandit is the third German yacht to have won the Rolex Middle Sea Race following in the footsteps of Saudade (1983) and Morning Glory (2006).
With the confirmation that Red Bandit cannot be beaten by those left on the race course, attention turns to the class standings and the respective podiums. As at 16:00 CEST today, 15 yachts racing under IRC have completed the course. Thirty-four boats have officially retired mostly due to breakages on the first night, with 51 boats still racing under IRC. The sole multihull in the fleet is just approaching the South Comino Channel.
MORE: Seng Huang Lee’s Scallywag 100 from Hong Kong claimed line honors on October 22, crossing the finish line at 09:43:29 CEST with an elapsed time of 2 days, 21 hours, 33 minutes, and 29 seconds. – Full report
Event information – Race details – Tracker – Results
Seventy-seven out of 112 boats completed the course, with 35 retiring after the start.
IRC Class Winners
IRC 1 Balthasar, Rogier Overveld, MLT
IRC 2 Red Bandit, Carl-Peter Forster, GER
IRC 3 Long Courrier, Géry Trentesaux, FRA
IRC 4 Elusive 2, Aaron, Christoph & Maya Podesta, MLT
IRC 5 Calypso, Sebastian Ripard & Daniel Calascione, MLT
IRC 6 Zephyr, Simon Toms, GBR
ORC Class Winners
ORC 2 Kuka 3, Franco Niggeler, SUI (Overall winner)
ORC 3 Afazik Impulse, Yves Grosjean, FRA
ORC 4 Elusive 2, Aaron, Christoph & Maya Podesta, MLT
ORC 5 Marina 21, Milan Kolacek & Milan Tomek, CRO
ORC 6 Calypso, Sebastian Ripard and Daniel Calascione, MLT
Source: RMSR