Coastal Cruise launches Royal Malta Yacht Club's 2020 Race Calendar

Coastal Race 1 © Paul Sultana

Coastal Race 1 © Maria Vella-Galea

The Royal Malta Yacht Club's first sailing event for 2020 was a coastal cruise held on Saturday 1st February in the afternoon.

The twelve strong Cruisers' fleet, the largest to date, enjoyed a tranquil sail from Marsamxett Harbour towards Munxar Cardinal Mark and back.

Light weather conditions on the day resulted in the cruise being a sedate affair with only three boats managing to make the time limit for the day. In the RMYC Rated Boats category it was August Rush that finished the race, whilst in the IRC Category, Aaron and Edward Gatt Floridia's Otra Vez finished first followed by Ilgonis Balodis' Aziza. Nevertheless, it was smiles all around as crews made it to the Yacht Club for après sail beers and banter.

Experienced sailors Daniel Fenech, Zach Zammit and Karl Miggiani, racing on Dods, took it upon themselves to use the Coastal Cruise as an introduction to sailing for three new crew members - Rachel Borg, Sean Fenech and Rachel Vella Fenech who all really got into the swing of things. Daniel Fenech commented "Sailing on board Dods was a blast, it was so nice to see so many cruisers out on the water, and though it was a cruise, there was still an element of competition which we all thoroughly enjoyed. We are looking forward to the next event!"

Similar sentiments were shared by Comanche Raider III crew members Ramon Sant Hill, Daniel Bartolo and Mark Muscat joined the Serious Fun crew. Owned by Jan Versteeg and Sally Jackson, this was this boat's first foray in the Club's event. Joining there were Kurt Camilleri and Paul Masters who all found this cruise to be an excellent opportunity to get into the RMYC Sailing scene and are looking forward to the next event.

Regular cruiser Ferdinand Grech, who took part on Kon Tiki, was pleased to see a sizeable fleet, and strongly encouraged all cruising boats to take part in this short, fun yet friendly race. Racing experience is irrelevant in these events, it is all about spending a nice afternoon amongst like minded souls, continued Grech.

"The main objective of these Cruises is to attract more Cruisers to Club events. With most of the racing boats on the hard, it was good to see quite a few racing sailors hop on board some of the cruising boats to join in the fun" explained Peter Dimech, Rear Commodore (Sailing), Royal Malta Yacht Club.

The next Coastal Cruise will take place on Saturday 8th February, with a first warning signal at 12:55hrs. The Cruise is open to all cruisers and non-Royal Malta Yacht Club members. Those interested in registering or requesting more information are to send an email to the Club Secretariat on . Registrations are to be submitted by not later than 17.00hrs on Friday 7th February. A short Briefing will take place at the Royal Malta Yacht Club on Friday 7th at 19:00hrs.