Record fleet expected for 50th Edition. 104 boats registered - Royal Malta Yacht Club
07 July 2010

This weekend, the Royal Malta Yacht Club will be organising the 50th Edition of the Malta Syracuse Race sponsored by AirMalta. They will also be celebrating half a century of this classic race which has managed to attract 104 sailing boats to the start line.

"This is a remarkable time for the RMYC. Who would have guessed that our club and the Lega Navale Italiana would be celebrating 50 years of sailing collaboration." said Georges Bonello DuPuis, Commodore of the Royal Malta Yacht Club.

Many local boats will be vying to claim top honours in this race, including Allegra, Commanche Raider, Juno and TonTon Surfside, who has had a remarkable start to the season.

Peter Dimech is the Principal Race Officer for the event and has witnessed the building entry over the years. Dimech is the man charged with getting everyone off the start line cleanly. "The start is no place for the faint of heart and it's no easy task given the forecast weather especially with 104 boats lining up against each other. It's not looking good," he laughs."We've very little wind predicted on Saturday. Hopefully, will get a little be more than forecast in the Malta Channel."

Speaking about this race, Dr Brock Friesen, Air Malta Chief Officer Commercial said, "Air Malta is yet again thrilled to be associated with Royal Malta Yacht Club. Through this sponsorship we are reaffirming once again Air Malta's commitment to the yachting community. We believe that such events give added value to the Maltese tourism product and we are confident that assisting similar events helps to attract more visitors to our islands.

"Promoting sports' tourism is one of the strategies which we together with the Malta Tourism Authority are pursuing to draw more people to our country. We are working hard to increase tourism arrivals especially during our lean periods and sports tourism such as yachting is helping us in our activities", continued Dr Friesen.

The race starts on Saturday, 10th July from the waters opposite the Preluna Hotel in Sliema at 10.00hrs.

For further details, please contact:
Royal Malta Yacht Club
Ta' Xbiex Seafront
Ta' Xbiex XBX 1028
Tel: 2133 3109
Fax: 2133 1131
Email: info@rmyc.org