And they’re off…. WINSOME starts in 2016 Rolex Middle Sea Race!

October 22, 2016

This morning at 11:00 CEST (09:00 UTC for the team onboard WINSOME), the guns of the Saluting Battery high up on the St. Peter & Paul Bastion were fired to mark the start of IRC class 6 in the 2016 Rolex Middle Sea Race. WINSOME unfortunately had a relatively slow start, being one of the last boats in her class sail out of the harbour. Knowing from experience, the start of this race is very tricky as it is located on the middle of a harbour surrounded by high walls. Luck therefore plays a larger role than usual here.

Nevertheless, the team wasn’t discouraged and immediately started to claw their way back in the fleet. As at the time of writing WINSOME lies just to the North-East of Capo Passero at the South-Eastern tip of Sicily and it appears they’re trying to make some distance to the East, most likely to avoid less pressure close to shore. WINSOME is in 7th place in IRC 6 (out of 24 competitors) and 8th in IRC Overall (out of 94 competitors). There is however still some 550nm to go around a very challenging course. We will be cheering on the team from behind our computers and hope you do the same.

Go WINSOME!

Hidde Kroon & Joost Dantuma

If you want to follow the race you can do so by clicking the link to the Rolex Middle Sea Race Tracker on the top right or by downloading the Yellowbrick app on your mobile phone or table and selecting the 2016 Rolex Middle Sea Race from the menu.