Spinnaker - Issue 1 - Spring 2015

RC44 VALLETTA CUP

RACE ROUND UP

THE NOTARIAL ARCHIVES

A spectacular first for the Maltese Islands

Results from April to December 2014

A priceless treasure yet to be discovered

PAGE 24 >

PAGE 26 >

PAGE 44 >

spinnaker The official Royal Malta Yacht Club publication

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SPRING 2015

COVER STORY >

Rolex Middle Sea Race

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contents 8

ECONOMY

16

J70 REGATTA

50 AFM

48

MARINE BIO

54 RECIPES

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welcome to the

new spinnaker After what was a bit of a disappointment in not being able to issue Spinnaker for a number of months, we are pleased to be back on track with a new layout and even more engaging content. Spinnaker’s absence was not due to lack of efforts from Francesca Vincenti who undertook editorial duties in the past. In fact quite a lot of what you are reading in this edition was made possible through Francesca’s efforts, so a big thank you goes to her!

The Royal Malta Yacht Club has recently entrusted Kite Group with the production and publishing of Spinnaker magazine. As you can see the editorial and creative teams at the RMYC and Kite Group have put their heads together to present you with a fresh design and bring a broader range of content to the magazine. This is in line with our strategy to reach out to a wider audience.

Back to business.

I am sure you will find our resume from April of last year’s intense racing calendar interesting.

2014 was full of varied races, both in local and international waters. RMYC also had its first participation in the ‘’Etchells Invitational Championships’, where David Anastasi led a team of four club members to an international fleet racing event in Cowes on the popular Etchells 22. The highlights of the record breaking 35th edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race are also featured in this edition. As a side note, we are pleased to report that entries are being received for this year’s edition, one of them being Comanche, a maxi which will be skippered by the renowned Ken Read.

From what we have seen so far 2015 promises to be yet another exciting year for the Club.

With a calendar full of racing activities we have already seen the Club undertake two important race series – the Match Racing Series and the Winter Series as well as the J70 Regatta and the International Yacht Paint Gozo Weekend Regatta.

The inaugural RC44 Valletta Cup, organised by Yachting Events Ltd. and held under the auspices of the RMYC, saw some of the world’s top international businessmen and sailing greats such as Cameron Appleton, Dean Barker, Vasco Vascotto and Iain Percy, descend upon Malta for five days of spectacular racing. Needless to say the Club was buzzing with activity throughout the event.

Club members have just returned from the successful International Yacht Paint Marzamemi Regatta which was held in the first weekend of May and which is an appointment few care to miss. We will be featuring this race in our next edition. In the coming months we will also be hosting the RLR Weekend Regatta, J70 Med Cup, the Citadel Ragusa Weekend and the Syracuse – Malta Race. Whilst sailing is our passion, we felt we should include some other interesting content, which is not directly related to sailing. For example, did you know what a wealth of historic information the Notarial archives have to offer? In Grey Decks, Men in Blue, Lieutenant Keith Caruana explains the role of the Armed Forces Maritime Squadron and their importance, be it to save lives or carrying out enforcement exercises, whilst well known Marine Biologist Prof. Alan Deidun writes about Malta’s approach to addressing the jellyfish problem.

Some people underestimate what Wealth Management is all about, so we have that covered too!

As always we are happy to receive your feedback, suggestions or ideas on how we can improve. So if you feel like sharing any ideas please drop me a line on maria@rmyc.org That’s enough from me, I hope that you will enjoy this new issue of Spinnaker.

Maria Vella-Galea Editor

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Commodore’s

message Spinnaker is back in a new and better form after a short break last year. The past year was an extraordinarily eventful year for the Club. The programme of Regattas and social events all proceeded in their customary sequence taking off hesitantly with a short Winter series alongside the Match racing programme. It was the thoroughly enjoyable International Yacht Paint Gozo Regatta that got the Club races going though and this was followed by the Gewiss Marzamemi Weekend, the Crewsaver Regatta, the Citadel Ragusa Weekend and the Malta-Syracuse race.

But it was not all racing at the RMYC as the shore based members had plenty of entertainment at the parties and other evening activities that happen every now and then at the Club and for the more leisurely sailors the summer cruise took seven boats on a nine day trip along the south coast of Sicily.

The RMYC Sailing School started to operate from the Club using four RS Visions with the aim of introducing new people to sailing. The Club is committed to seeing this initiative which it sees as an essential aspect of any yacht club grow and the school will now be run in association with Sailcoach.

Then the opportunity came about for the Club to take over the restaurant that operated in the building. After a call for proposals a new caterer was appointed and the restaurant was refurbished just in time for the Rolex Middle Sea Race.

The race turned out to be the biggest ever with an impressive fleet of 122 boats at the start. It was quite an eventful race too as the light winds of the first days were followed by near extreme conditions. Many retired but for those that finished it was a tough but exhilarating ride back.

Congratulations go to Lee Satariano and his crew on Artie who were overall winners for the second time.

After a very enjoyable weekend for the Bank of Valletta Gozo Regatta the last two events were the Raymarine Double Handed Figure of Eight Race and the Medcomms Round Malta Race.

The year ended with the Christmas Drinks party, the Boxing Day Fun Race with its annual collection towards the L-Istrina Fund and the New Year’s Eve Gala Dinner and Party.

The Club has agreed to participate in a new joint initiative with Projects Malta which is being called Yachting Malta. Intended to focus on promoting yachting in Malta, the Club was invited to join in this project in recognition of its activities related to yachting and its success in organising events at an international level.

This year is expected to see the initiatives of the previous year develop and start to operate regularly.

The racing programme is now getting into gear. After the Winter series, the first Match Racing Series and the International Yacht Paint Gozo Regatta, the bulk of racing keelboats looked forward to the Annual first of May Regatta to Marzamemi, which this year was sponsored by International Yacht Paint. This will be followed by the RLR Regatta, the Round the Islands race and the Citadel Ragusa weekend at the end of June. Here I must strongly encourage our racers to participate in the races held in Ragusa as this is a perfect opportunity to sail against new crews and promote inter Club competition. The Malta-Syracuse Race which this year starts in Syracuse will be the last race before the summer break and the RMYC Summer Cruise.

We look forward to your participation in another year of racing and other Club activities.

Godwin Zammit Commodore

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Publisher’s

message It is an honour to present you with Kite Group’s first take on Spinnaker. Our engagement with the Royal Malta Yacht Club has brought about a transformation to the magazine on a number of levels.

As an integrated communications company with an expertise in publishing, content and brand management we are putting back the prestige Spinnaker deserves. Apart from the new and fresh design, we are also investing in new content to offer you a complete magazine. We will also be increasing distribution channels to reach to a wider audience.

As publishers, we seek to integrate our work with the digital arena. For this reason we are also proud to launch the new Spinnaker portal. By accessing www.spinnakermalta.com, readers can access the articles online as well as watch videos and any other additional material. The idea of the portal is to give life to Spinnaker beyond the magazine as well as giving new channels for our esteemed advertisers.

Kite Group aims to set new standards for Spinnaker. By bringing our expertise to the table, we are confident that Spinnaker will re-establish itself as a reference point for any yachting and sailing enthusiast.

Cover photo: Rolex/Kurt Arrigo

Whilst welcoming you to our first edition, we look forward to sharing this journey with you.

JP Fabri Publsiher

Editor Maria Vella-Galea maria@rmyc.org Consulting Editor JP Fabri jpfabri@kitegroup.com.mt Design & Art Direction Nicholas Cutajar Printing Print-It

Distribution Spinnaker is the official publication of the Royal Malta Yacht Club and is distributed to all RMYC members, boat and yacht importers, marine outlets, boats berthed at local marinas, ministries, embassies and leading organisations.

Spinnaker is published for the RMYC by Kite Group, 296 Naxxar Road, B’Kara, Malta.

For information regarding promotion and advertising please call on (+356) 9940 8746 or email on spinnaker@kitegroup.com.mt

All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited without written permission. Opinions expressed in Spinnaker are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. All reasonable care is taken to ensure truth and accuracy, but the editor and publishers cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions in articles, advertising, photographs or illustrations.

Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome but cannot be returned without a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

The editor is not responsible for material submitted for consideration. © 2015 Kite Group. All rights reserved.

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Malta’s economy in numbers Did you ever get asked a question about Malta’s economy in a conversation and didn’t know the figures?

It happens to us so frequently that we decided to compile a list of facts and figures for easy referencing.

GDP

Shipping

+5.2% growth +3.5% in real terms EU GDP growth 1.3% GDP per capita €18,840 up from €17,914 in 2013

handled by Malta Freeport

€7.6bn

Unemployment rate

MT 5.9% EU 9.8% Employment growth

MT 3.9% EU 1.0% FDI

€9.6 bn 70%

of which is financial & insurance activities

Financial sector

26 banks registered in Malta

2.75 million TEUs 1946 ship calls at Malta Freeport

6,505 ships on Malta register

1st in EU, 7th in the world International rankings

1st for best climate and 3rd for quality of life out of 192 countries, International Living

10th best place

to retire out of 192, International Living

10th soundest banking system

620

out of 144 countries, World Economic Forum

Tourism

47th most competitive country

investment funds

1.7 mn tourists in 2014 +7.8%

303

cruise liner calls Tourists spent

€1.5bn +6.1% 8

out of 144 countries, World Economic Forum

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An economic pillar The yachting industry is considered as one of Malta’s economic pillars with potential to grow further. SPINNAKER speaks to the Hon. Chris Cardona, Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Business to get his views on this sector and its prospects.

Honourable Minister, what is your Government’s vision for the yachting sector in Malta?

The Yachting industry is high on our list of priorities and Government is very committed to enhance and expand the prospects for this industry mainly on the basis of a 3 pronged approach: • The development of new yachting events of an

international caliber to complement the Rolex

Middle Sea Race

• Assisting in the development of a Super Yacht

Industry to Malta through the attraction of these

yachts to Malta for Tourism, Servicing and Refitting

• Work on a joint effort to provide more

infrastructure and resources for yachts in Malta.

For this industry to prosper we need to make a concerted effort and this is why we have opted to consolidate this within the realm of Yachting Malta - the PPP that we set-up in conjunction with the Royal Malta Yacht Club.

The Government’s representatives on the board are members from Transport Malta, the Ministry for Tourism, the Secretariat for Sport, and the PPP coordinating body.

The Ministry for the Economy, Investment and Small Business is providing all the necessary support to further consolidate the success of this initiative – principally because we truly believe in the success of this industry.

The recently established Yachting Malta is a new PPP focused on marketing Malta as a premier destination.

What are your motivations behind this?

As indicated earlier the scope of Yachting Malta is to combine the knowledge and interest of all stakeholders (Private and Government) so as to develop the blueprint for a vision and growth strategy for this industry. I am informed that the Board of Yachting Malta is currently working and having discussions with the stakeholders in the industry so

as to develop the approach required to develop Malta as a high quality destination for yachting.

What economic impact does yachting have on Malta?

The yachting industry has a strong multiplier effect on the Maltese economy with expenditure being channeled to various sectors of the Maltese economy. One of the tasks of Yachting Malta shall be that of consolidating all research in this area and to provide and collate data relating to the performance of this industry. Indeed, we currently do not have a dedicated source of information or data for this sector.

Do you see that there is potential for attracting investment, even foreign, in yachting in Malta?

The feedback we have, even through Transport Malta, is that there is significant interest by foreign investors. The government is now looking at the projects with which we could turn this interest into reality. Government is also looking at developing the infrastructure further and at creating new opportunities in this sector.

What role do you see the Royal Malta Yacht Club play in all this?

The Royal Malta Yacht Club has the knowledge and experience of the sector and as such is one of the most important stakeholders in the sector. They can assist us to develop the sector further on the basis of the Joint venture that Government has created on the basis of Yachting Malta.

Photo: RC44 Class / Martinez Studio.es

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yacht ing malta – making Malta a yachting destination

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The Royal Malta Yacht Club and the Government have partnered up in a new public-private partnership: Yachting Malta Ltd. The agreement signed recently with Projects Malta Ltd, the government’s new PPP coordinator saw the setting up of this joint partnership.

With the sole objective of promoting Malta for Yacht Racing, Leisure Yachting, Yacht related events and Super Yachts, Yachting Malta promises to make Malta a yachting destination.

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his was announced by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat during a signing ceremony held at the RMYC premises in Ta’ Xbiex. In the presence of several yachtsmen and important yachting stakeholders, Dr Muscat said that the agreement was the fruit of several months of discussion.

“With an outstanding and successful track record, The Royal Malta Yacht Club is truly the perfect partner to team with,” insisted Muscat.

He emphasized the importance of yachting to local industry, not just simply as a pleasurable pursuit but as an asset to the maritime sector, an excellent contributor to the economy and an important job creator. Yachting Malta is the brainchild of PPP Minister Dr Konrad Mizzi and Parliamantery Secretary Chris Agius, who worked with other Ministers and agencies to make this a reality.

Godwin Zammit, Commodore of the Royal Malta Yacht Club, expressed his satisfaction in the confidence the government has in the Club. He reiterated the absolute commitment of the Royal Malta Yacht Club to making Malta a truly unique destination.

During the well-attended signing ceremony the core services of Yachting Malta were listed. These include: i.

Identify and attract to Malta high profile yachting events including regattas, boat shows, conferences and other activities related to yachting. ii.

Establish an experienced team to carry out the marketing, promotion of Malta as a yachting destination as well as to assist with the promotion, advertising, financing, administration, logistics and coordination of events including liaising with government entities as necessary and also to create synergies with other sectors to maximize the multiplier effect on the economy; iii.

Foster and promote sailing and associated international activities with emphasis on the young. This includes the promotion of education and training in the fundamentals of sailing, racing, and water safety. In doing so, a spirit of teamwork, sportsmanship, cooperation, and a sense of self-fulfillment within the framework of competitive sailing is cultivated; and; iv.

Set out a twenty four (24) month rolling business plan with the scope of promoting and developing Malta as a yachting sporting tourism destination.

The official signing of the joint venture agreement was done by Godwin Zammit and Anna Rossi on behalf of The Royal Malta Yacht Club and Adrian Said and William Wait on behalf of Projects Malta Ltd. Fact Box: Yachting Malta’s shareholding shall be as follows: 51% Projects Malta Ltd 49% Royal Malta Yacht Club Financing: The Government of Malta through PML shall provide an annual subvention of €210,000.

The Board of Directors of YML shall present annual budgets incorporating revenues from other nongovernmental sources including sponsorships from events that result from the activities originating from the objectives set out by YML. YML shall develop new revenue generating products and services to ensure viability and sustainability on the basis of a business plan that shall be put together by the Board of Directors of YML. Others: RMYC shall appoint the Chairman of YML for the first two (2) years ending in December 2016. PML shall appoint the Chairman in the second (2nd), two (2) year term in January 2017.

The first Chairman shall be Mr. Godwin Zammit – Royal Malta Yacht Club Commodore.

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COVER STORY >

remarkable race Record entry for a

2014 Rolex Middle Sea Race

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22 yachts from 24 nationalities ranging in size from 9.5 to 30.5 metres gathered at the start of the Rolex Middle Sea Race 2014. Twenty-three more yachts than the previous record set in 2013. “Having a larger fleet and different nationalities is satisfying, because it means that the popularity of the race is not only increasing in numbers but extending to many places,” enthused Godwin Zammit, Commodore of the Royal Malta Yacht Club, organisers of the Rolex Middle Sea Race.

The Rolex Middle Sea Race was first run in 1968 and Rolex has been the title sponsor since 2002. On Saturday 18 October, the cannons of Valletta’s Saluting Battery overlooking Grand Harbour marked the start of the 2014 race under a clear sky, a subtle southerly breeze and the watchful gaze of a sizeable crowd.

According to Francesco de Angelis, tactician on defending champion B2 from Italy: “The difficulty of this race is that you never know what the wind is going to do. It’s a long one, with a lot of corners, and the scenario is always

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changing. You know the wind you will start with, but you don’t know what you will find along the way. It is never easy.”

For Tom Addis, navigator on the 100-ft Maxi Esimit Europa 2: “The thing about this course is that you get all angles. There is always something extreme - it is never an easy 10-15 knots of wind race!” Addis took line honours at 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart with this same boat when it was Neville Crichton’s Alfa Romeo. Other than the similar length of their racecourses, and that both are sponsored by Rolex, there are very little similarities between both races.” It would soon become clear that the Mediterranean had decided to argue with Addis’ opinion.

The wind at the start was a light southerly. The first night at sea saw the fleet struggling to make ground towards the Strait of Messina. Concentration, attentive trimming, correct sail selection, precise helming and minimizing unnecessary movements were the key to getting anything out of the conditions.

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The 35th Rolex Middle Sea Race was one to remember. Not only for international fleet that, for the third year in a row, set a record number of entries, but for the array of conditions that the yachts faced. From no wind to too much; from flat calm to turbulent seas; from going nowhere to flying fast & furious: the 608-nm mythical racecourse offered everything. The worthy winner had to conquer the elements as well as the competition. Exceptional challenges bring out the best in exceptional characters. Step forward Lee Satariano and the crew of the Maltese J/122 Artie, winner of the 2014 Rolex Middle Sea Race.

Twenty-four hours into the race, and only the leader had passed through the Strait. The Jochen Schümann-skippered line honours favourite Esimit Europa 2 covered just 215nm in the first complete day of racing. By noon she was 10-nm from Stromboli struggling to make six knots. Rán, Shockwave and B2, the next yachts on the course, were still tacking the Strait, some 30 miles behind.

“The first night of this race is a very tricky and tactical affair,” explained Ian Moore, navigator on Italian Cookson 50 Mascalzone Latino, one of the faster entries. “You go straight for the corner of Sicily but as soon as you have got there you begin thinking how do I enter the Strait?”

Vincenzo Onorato’s boat would be the fifth to pass into the Tyrrhenian Sea. Some twenty-four hours later and Esimit Europa 2 had still yet to pass the halfway point. Most of the fleet was wallowing 100 nautical miles astern. The second night proved another opportunity for crews to hone their ability to deal with little or no wind. As more yachts rounded Photo: Rolex/Kurt Arrigo

Stromboli, some diverted north in the search of breeze.

The fact remained that everyone was barely moving. Esimit Europa’s hopes of overturning the 47 hour, 55 minute and 3 second race record (set by American Maxi Rambler in 2007) evaporated in the still heat.

Esimit Europa 2 used the building breeze to confirm her status as favourite for line honours, finally crossing the finish line in Malta’s Marsamxett Harbour at 22:47.05 CEST on Tuesday night. The Slovenian Maxi completed the course in 3 days, 10 hours, 42 minutes and 5 seconds. This fourth line honours win, following victories in 2010, 2011 and 2012, setting a new record for the Rolex Middle Sea Race: some compensation for failing to better the course record.

Two hours later, Niklas Zennström’s Rán arrived in Malta and was later declared winner of IRC One. “All you can do is try to win your class and hope that the weather is in your favour,” commented Swedish owner and skipper. “As always, Team Rán prepared the boat and raced to a very high standard, so we can be happy with our performance.”

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Photos: Rolex/Kurt Arrigo

After three quiet nights, a dramatic change in conditions occurred late on the fifth day. The wind built progressively from the northwest. Storm force winds began to sweep the course and the face of the race changed, just as most yachts were reaching the exposed westernmost point at Favignana.

GYR Scarlet Oyster reported 48 knots of wind just before retiring with a broken rudder. The German crew on the 48-ft Sjambok reported a massive gust of 60 knots. Grey Goose sent photographic evidence of its instruments recording 50 knots. With the hours of darkness exceeding daylight it was a long and difficult night.

Proof of the extraordinarily treacherous conditions lies in the eventual number of retirees – 71 – and the litany of damage reported by the fleet, even close to the finish. “The pin of our keel failed just as we left the Comino channel”, reported Portuguese skipper Diogo Caiolla, on the Swiss 42-ft prototype Kuka-Light. French yacht Teasing Machine lost her mast 20 miles from the line.

For those still racing the building wind also brought opportunity. The race conditions now favoured a small boat. Which one would depend upon a combination of seamanship, tactics and nerve. Artie’s Sebastian Ripard offered an insight into the dilemma: “We have wind gusting over 40 knots and 30-foot waves. The game plan has been a mixture of pushing as hard as we can but also protecting the boat, so we have been taking it a bit easier in the big gusts of over 40 knots and then going for it when the wind speed drops a little.”

As crews reached the finish line, their faces were a mix of elation, exhaustion, relief and above all a huge sense of achievement.

Lee Satariano’s J/122 Artie crossed the line at 00:45 CET on Thursday, after 4 days, 13 hours, 35 minutes and 05 second of racing. Her nearest rival in class would finish 8 hours behind on both elapsed and corrected time. Later that morning, with several yachts still racing, the Royal Malta Yacht Club made an official announcement declaring the Maltese team could not be beaten and had won the race overall.

An overwhelmed Satariano commented: “I can’t believe it. To win such a prestigious race, one of the highest level offshore races in the world, being a local boat and a local team is a great achievement.” Behind the delight was the knowledge of a job well done: “Having had the opportunity to reflect on the race, even more important than winning was the achievement of actually finishing. It was a very, very tough race.” This is the second title for Artie in three years, after victory in 2011, and the seventh Maltese victory in 35 editions. Fittingly, in the year when a record 122 boats started the race, it was 12.2m yacht that won.”

The Prize Giving ceremony was a true occasion. Not only was it an opportunity to praise the victors as they received the Rolex Middle Sea Race trophy and Rolex timepiece in recognition of their huge achievement, but it was also a chance to acknowledge the herculean determination and perseverance of everyone who had participated.

The 36th edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race will start on 17 October 2015 and so far 24 entries have already been received, including that of Robertissima III who makes a welcome return to the race after a year’s absence and the new maxi Comanche, who will be skippered by renowned sailor Ken Read.

Lee Satariano, skipper of team Artie, the J/122 boat which won the 2014 edition of the Race, together with co-skippers Christian and Sebastian Ripard and the crew plan on returning to the race in October. “Team Artie plans on being in the Valletta Grand Harbour for the start of this prestigious race and preparatory works are already ongoing on the boat. Team Artie’s participation in this race has been very successful so far with two wins and one second placing, however the level of competition increases each year which makes it more challenging for all. Nevertheless we look forward to being part of the Race in October”, continued Satariano. www.rolexmiddlesearace.com

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J70 Regatta Royal Malta Yacht Club

words by Sebastian Ripard

A

fter a long winter of training the J70 fleet finally put their new found skills to the test with a two day regatta held at the Royal Malta Yacht Club, scheduled for the 21st and 22nd March. Winter had been long, cold, considerably wet and even windier.

The local J70 teams had risen to the challenge of the elements and spent many weekends out on the water sharpening their skills. The weekend Regatta was a welcomed opportunity for teams to go up against each other, head to head in a one-design fleet where all that separates one team from the other are the sailors.

With the spring season about to start and the Middlesea J70 Med Cup looming closer, all teams were keen to show their mettle. The conditions on the Saturday where ominous to say the least, Force 7-8 with a strong sea blowing from the South East – a wise decision was made to postpone Saturday’s races. Sunday morning 9am and the 5 strong fleet were out on the start line. The wind was still blowing fresh in the morning and Team Globe Ground showed their dominance winning the first two races with Team Middlesea right behind followed closely by Team Gaba, Team Otra Vez and Team Comanche.

As the morning progressed, the wind shifted round from the South East to the South South West. Now blowing out of the harbour, the racing conditions were lighter and flukier.

These conditions put a lot of pressure on the tactician, since it is all about sniffing out the wind and routing your team along the windiest path around the course. The third race

saw Middlesea lead the pack on the first leg followed by Artie, Otra Vez, Globe Ground and Comanche. Benji Borg, tactician on Globe Ground used some black magic on the second beat to leapfrog Globe Ground over the entire pack and round the second windward mark in the lead.

Unfortunately his luck ran out as Globe Ground parked in a windless hole allowing Middlesea, Artie and Otra Vez to sail past them and finish in that order.

With Globe Ground and Middlesea on equal points, it was the last race to count. Middlesea had a great start and led the race throughout, Globe Ground trailed seconds behind followed by Artie, Otra Vez and Comanche. The final results saw Middlesea placed first overall, Globe Ground second and Artie third.

It was a great day for Team Middlesea with smiles all round. Middlesea Assistant General Manager Fernando Docampo, had been participating with his team for the first two races and was thrilled by the close quarter racing, however, come the afternoon he was even more thrilled to see his team take the top podium position.

“Winning this Regatta is a good start for the team, with the Med Cup close around the corner the competition is very hot”, commented Fernando.

More J70 action to come as April brings the start to the Spring Season, a season that will climax with the Middlesea J70 Med Cup 4-7th June.

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The International Yacht Paint Gozo Regatta Serious fun, camaraderie, and sailing is what the International Yacht Paint Gozo Regatta was all about.

A

popular event after the long winter haulage, the International Yacht Paint Gozo Regatta started off on a Friday afternoon with boats in the IRC Racing category taking part in two windward / leeward races in a good north westerly breeze while the IRC cruisers sailed from the start off Sliema to the Ghallis Cardinal mark and back to finish Sliema.

setting the scene for what was a relaxed evening, where sailors exchanged notes on the day’s race and friends absorbed the atmosphere. On Saturday crews were welcomed at the Mgarr pontoon with an ice cold beer, just before heading to the idyllic setting at Country Terrace in Mgarr, where crews congregated to enjoy the sunset and dine in the company of family and friends.

Saturday’s programme consisted of two Coastal Races. The first race started from 1nm off Sliema coast with a short windward leg to Tigne point and finishing off in Mellieha. The second race of the day started off in Mellieha and saw boats racing around Comino and finishing off in Gozo. The breeze held right through the day providing boats with some excellent racing conditions.

International Yacht Paint through its long standing distributors, Mac Med Limited, have returned to sponsor this spring’s edition of the Gozo Regatta Weekend organised by the Royal Malta Yacht Club.

On the sponsorship, Mac Med’s Andrew Magri Overend said, “We are thrilled that International Paint have decided to sponsor this event and are sure that the programme that has been devised will provide an exciting opportunity for all participants. It is a pleasure to be working again with the team at the Royal Malta Yacht Club via our sponsorship of this event since we are keen to see as many young people as possible take up the sport of sailing. This collaboration again reflects International Yacht Paint’s commitment to the sport whilst it continues to consolidate its leading position as the premium Yacht paint brand that they are.”

On Sunday two coastal races were held.

The first race took place around a large triangular course set between Gozo and Malta. The second race was a passage race from Mgarr and finishing at Ghallis, rather than at the RMYC in Marsamxett due to a declining wind forecast.

Social events play a very important part in the sailing scene and the weekend social calendar kicked off with a wine and cheese party held in the Club’s terrace, saxophonist trio made up of Graham, Stephen and Michelle performed a wide variety of tunes

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About International Yacht Paint International Yacht Paint knows that keeping one’s yacht in pristine condition places colossal demands on paint systems used. Not only do they have to perform technically in a huge range of applications but their formulations need to be optimised to take into account the requirements of different climatic environments worldwide.

International has been manufacturing world-leading antifouling and protective paint systems for yachts for over a hundred years. Its long standing reputation as a huge investor in R&D is backed by an equally respected global team of Technical Support personnel.

The strength of International Paint in the antifouling product sector is considerable and has been its backbone since its beginnings.

To many professionals, International Paint is the antifouling paint Company. Products such as Micron® 77 demonstrate this very well. Three years after its launch locally, it continues to remain the benchmark for long term fouling protection thanks to its patented Biolux® SPC technology. This is designed to react with seawater to produce a controlled release of biocide, while the surface dissolves away at a controlled rate by design, working even when the yacht is stationary.

International Yacht Paint also supported the highly popular Marzamemi Regatta which is the first offshore race of the season and which took place on the first weekend of May.

What crews had to say about the Race “The light and fluky wind conditions provided for a very challenging weekend, especially on Sunday, with the second race of the day being particularly challenging. Nevertheless we performed well and would like to thank the sponsors and organisers for a great event”.

Matthew Farrugia, racing on Lightning winner of IRC Racer 2 Class

“It was a great weekend... good sailing, excellently planned race course as well as great company.

Although thoroughly enjoyable, it would have been even better had there been even more boats. Overall, the level of organisation has improved drastically”.

Sandro Musu, winner of IRC Cruisers Class on Aziza

“We enjoyed a weekend of very pleasant sailing conditions. The mix of windward, leeward and coastal races was just right and although we were short-crewed, we sailed well and worked hard to put in good results”.

Aaron Gatt Floridia, sailing on Otra Vez, overall winners of the IRC Racer Class

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Medcomms Coastal Race

First Race for 2015 for Royal Malta Yacht Club

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n attractive scene was to be enjoyed at Marsamxett Harbour when boats taking part in the Royal Malta Yacht Club’s first race for 2015 hoisted their spinnakers for what was described as an almost perfect race due to the relatively constant wind.

Starting in Marsamxett Harbour, fourteen boats racing in three different classes sailed towards the Valletta Harbour Fairway Buoy heading towards the tuna pens situated off St. Paul’s Bay and sailing towards and around the Island of Comino and heading back to the Tuna Pens and the Valletta Fairway Buoy before finishing off in Marsamxett Harbour.

Participating boats were split into three classes - IRC Racer 1 Class, IRC Racer 2 Class and IRC Cruiser Class. Whilst weather conditions were generally good, a few boats broached on the downwind leg and although no serious damage was reported, four boats were forced to retire from the race.

With a reasonable good wind varying between 14 -22 knots, it was upwind all the way to Comino with a lot of tacking up along the coast of Malta. Wind was fluky which meant that it was changing directions varying approximately 20 degrees.

Most boats took advantage of the wind shifts. Tacking away from the coast meant that boats experienced higher waves which tend to slow the boats down so many opted to stay close to land, tackling smaller waves. However higher waves were inevitable upon reaching the St. Paul’s Bay fish farms. Spinnakers were once again hoisted close to the Cominotto Cardinal Buoy and kept up all the way down to the Fairway Buoy, where it was a close reach to the finish.

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IRC Racer 1 Class First Place Elusive BOV Second Place TonTon

IRC Racer 2 Class First Place Lightning

Second Place Sailaway Third Place Time Out IRC Cruiser Class First Place Xplane Second Place Puddleduck Third Place Aziza

Arthur Podesta Jonathan Gambin/ Matthew Scicluna Alfie Manduca/ Matthew Farrugia Ray Schembri Mario Sant

Sean Borg Chris Selvagi Sandro Musu’

The 2015 Medcomms Coastal Race Prize Giving ceremony was held at the Royal Malta Yacht Club in the presence of Mark Gaglione, Medcomms Malta representative.

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Fleet Flavour!

RMYC represented AT the 2014 ETCHELLS INVITATIONAL REGATTA IN COWES

With preparations going underway to select this year’s team for the forthcoming event in August, Mark Vassallo, mainsheet trimmer of the team representing our Club during last year’s event, shares his experience with Spinnaker.

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he moment we won the prize to participate in the Etchells International Invitational Cup, we knew we had a tall order for the next couple of months. Our team had a total of seven weeks to prepare itself to race in a fleet of twenty identical Etchells 22s keeping in mind the drawback that, since there are no Etchells locally, the first time we’d set sail on this boat would be the day we arrive in Cowes, twenty four hours before we start racing. Another challenge was to sail ‘4 up’ bearing in mind the tight weight limit of 285 kilos, an average per person of 72.5 kilos!

Immediately we set to work, and by the first week we had laid out a plan which included a) regular ‘on the water’ training on the RMYC H-Boats to perfect our boat handling skills, b) debrief sessions which included watching and analysing a number of videos showing how the Etchells 22 is meant to be sailed to go fast, c) a daily exercise program to increase our fitness to enable us to hike out harder and longer, d) a strict weight loss program, e) learning to understand the weather patterns and the tidal effects of the Solent.

There was one thing we didn’t plan for however - our crew included avid laser sailors and club members Karl Miggiani and Tom Bonello Ghio, both aged 16 who, in spite of the daily exercise and weight loss programme, kept gaining weight along with their height! And up to a week before travelling to Cowes we were still 20 kilos over the limit. At that point we had no option but to resort to more drastic measures that required limiting our food intake to bare necessary while drink more than four litres of water each day, and increasing the daily exercise programme. 24 hours before the official weigh in at the Royal Thames Yacht Club we then had to stop any kind of intake both liquid and solid! Once in Cowes, 12 hours before the weigh in, we were still 5 kilos over but after two 6km runs (1 of which in broad daylight wearing thermals) we weighed in at 283.5 kilos, just 1.5 kg below the weight limit, making us one of the heaviest teams and therefore giving us the best righting moment potential.

Thereafter it was all about regaining our energies and acquainting ourselves with the Solent and the Etchells 22. On the other hand, the weather forecast, at least for the first couple of days racing, looked encouraging with light to medium winds, high temperatures and bright sunshine, just what we are used to in our beautiful Mediterranean. After a few tips and tricks from local guru Graham Sunderland and Etchells world Champion and Australian Olympic Sailor Andrew Palfry, and just one afternoon sailing on the Etchells for our very first time we felt ready to race!

Day 1 All teams were down at the dock early that morning to discover their boats and to unwrap their brand new North Sails main, jib and spinnaker which they would use throughout the regatta and by 0930hrs all were underway to the race course, set just East of Hill Head. At the start of Race 1, the principle race officer David Campbell James immediately understood the level of anxiety and excitement across the fleet.....three times he was forced to call a General Recall until he hoisted a U flag...after which things calmed down and racing got slowly underway. After mark 1 we understood immediately that crew work and boat speed were quite a constant throughout the fleet and that the major differences lied in the start, tactics (of wind and tide) and finding a gap around the marks, as all 20 boats would round mark 1 no more than 30 seconds apart.

Day 2 and 3 Seven races were sailed over the two days in ideal weather conditions. We had between 6 and20 knots throughout, with the difference that we had yet another element other than the tide to deal with....it was imperative to be on the right side of the course when the sea breeze first kicks in....and this could hit anytime between 1130hrs and 1600 hrs. But this part of the game we didn’t manage as well as the more experienced locals; although we improved our sailing the other world class teams, who were also new to the Solent, improved too and therefore our 15th place reflected all of this. It was simply a matter of ‘practice makes perfect’. But on a positive note, we had improved our starts from the previous day so that evening, at the Gala Dinner held at the Royal Yacht Squadron, we discussed how to make sure our final day’s racing would be better.

Day 4 Race 10 and 11 were sailed in 12 to 15 knots of Westerly gradient.

We had a good start to the first race reaching mark 1 in the top 5 but we struggled to find a gap and got a penalty in the process, forcing the result a discard. The second race though, was different.

We had the best start of the regatta, found good gaps around all marks, read the tide and the wind as well and the top boats and finished in 10th place, 30 seconds behind the winner.

All 20 teams followed one another across the Solent one last time to moor at the dock at Shepards Boat Park where the prize giving was held. The team from the Antigua Yacht Club (Jeremy Thorp) claimed the top stop and the 140 year old Gertrude Cup. The teams from the New York Yacht Club (Shannon Bush) and Houston Yacht Club (Marvin Beckmann) followed closely in second and third respectively.

The Royal Malta Yacht Club team finished in a respectable 14thplace overall, just behind the Cannes Yacht Club and beating 6 other Yacht Clubs, a couple of which are local to the Solent.

And now, although all back to our own realities, we are sure that this fantastic learning experience will remain with us for long.

Certainly we understood the elements of an intense preparation to sail competitively in an event of this type. But most of all we learnt how to be positive and fight back on a punishing course where we started as the clear underdogs in an unforgiving fleet of world champions, Olympic medallists, America’s cup talent and many professional sailors, where the slightest mistake is paid for dearly in positions and the only way to learn is the hard way!

We would like to express our sincere thanks to the Committee of the Royal Malta Yacht Club for giving us this unforgettable opportunity, to RMYC life member David Franks and his wife Patricia for their invaluable support in Cowes and to Middle Sea Insurance plc for our crew uniforms.

3 races were sailed that day and the RMYC team placed 7th and 15th in the first two and were 4th before the race was abandoned due to the dying breeze. This put us in 10th place on the leader board. This result put us in good spirit and eager to fight harder especially on the start line, where we thought we were too conservative on the first two occasions and nailed the third start when we were more aggressive.

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2015 Royal Malta Yacht Club Match Racing Winter Series comes to a close The final knock out series of the RMYC Match Racing Winter Series 2015 was held over Easter weekend and whilst seven teams registered to take part it was six teams that eventually competed.

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he Match Racing Winter Series consisted of six individual days of round robin competitions between four different teams on each day. Each team raced each other an average of ten times over the six days during winter.

Teams were classified according to the results of the individual race days based on the percentage number of wins. This classification determined the teams’ seeding in the final knock out series. The knockout series saw bottom placed teams race against their closest rivals to knock them out of the competition and challenge the better placed teams and give teams a possibility to knock out the overall leader to win the Series.

The first match between sixth and fifth placed teams was won by Patrick Vassallo. The second match against Matthew Fleri Soler was also won

by Vassallo who knocked out Fleri Soler to take fourth Place. In the third match Kurt Camilleri Burlo’ earned the right to challenge David Anastasi by knocking out Vassallo.

The fourth match was a best of five between Camilleri Burlo’ and Anastasi. Camilleri Burlo’ won the first match easily but Anastasi came back

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to win the next three to knock out Camilleri Burlo’.

The final was a best of five between Anastasi and Ray Condachi’s team of Matthew Scicluna, Zach Zammit and Fabio Galea. Shifty conditions made for a difficult and exciting race.

Anastasi’s team controlled the first pre-start by crossing to the right of Condachi who entered first on starboard however the wind dropped and Anastasi trailed behind Condachi to lose the first match. The second match saw Anastasi enter from starboard and dominate Condachi to win the start and the race by a good margin. After changing boats for the third and fourth match David Anastasi’s team of Mark Vassallo, Tom Bonello Ghio and Karl Miggiani emerged the overall winners of the 2015 RMYC Match Racing Winter Series.

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It was a great “ event where the level improved considerably as we approached the final.

”

Mark Vassallo, mainsheet and spinnaker trimmer for Anastasi’s team enthused - ‘It was a great event where the level improved considerably as we approached the final. Our team work go sharper race after race. Tom and Karl, the two youngest members of our team did a great job with boat handling and tactics. We all thank the RMYC, the Race Committee and the Umpires who voluntarily gave their time to make this series a success” Second placed Ray Condachi and his team composed of Fabio Galea, Zach Zammit and Matthew Scicluna, echoed Vassallo’s sentiments.

“Notwithstanding we had two members of the team dropping out

on some races we still managed to find replacements and win all six races in day six,” said Condachi. “The final knockout day offered a very tricky wind direction with many shifts and sudden drops in wind strength.

Even though we had good starts, our slight loss in boat speed cost us the race. We need to brush up our team work and will certainly be in a better winning position in the next event”.

The winner of the 2015 RMYC Match Racing Winter Series has qualified for the selection event to choose the team which will represent Malta at the International Competition for the Gertrude Cup to be held in the UK this summer. Four other teams will be chosen from other RMYC competitions, with the final selection event to be held between the 13th and 14th June.

The Royal Malta Yacht Club is grateful towards the volunteers who gave in their time, effort and expertise in order to ensure the success of the Match Racing Winter Series. Special mention goes to Luca Lacitignola, Brian Darmanin, Paul Ellul, Francesca Vincenti and Peter Dimech.

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RC44 Valletta Cup A spectacular first for the Maltese Islands The inaugural RC44 Valletta Cup saw some of the world’s top international businessmen and sailing greats descend upon Malta for five days of spectacular racing.

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he historic ‘City of Knights’ promised a sensational start to the 2015 RC44 Championship Tour. The Mediterranean venue did not disappoint, providing big breeze throughout the week that ensured the RC44 Class owner-drivers and their teams experienced maximum thrills.

The Players – The Who’s Who of the RC44 Valletta Cup From the outset, Team Aqua who, under Chris Bake, last year claimed its fourth consecutive RC44 Championship win and as overall Tour leader, started the event as the boat to beat. However Bake was unable to compete at the RC44 Valletta Cup and passed the helm over to Swede Richard Goransson, who comes from the Melges 32 and 20 classes where he campaigns Inga from Sweden.

Gorannsson, whose strongest asset going into the week was Team Aqua’s permanent tactician, top match racer Cameron Appleton, explained how he felt about joining the Tour: “Sailing the 32 and this – it is the hardest thing that I’ve ever done in my life, but I enjoy it immensely. I like the one design concept, especially at this level. It is so cool to be able to do this with all these incredible sailors.”

With a number of crew changes since the end of last season, there was no doubt that it would be all to play for at the RC44 Championship Tour seasonopener.

To name a few, Vladimir Prosikhin’s Team Nika welcomed onboard new tactician, former Emirates Team New Zealand America’s Cup helm Dean Barker to the team, making them a force to be reckoned with.

Meanwhile, double Olympic gold medallist and America’s Cup Team Manager Iain Percy returned to lead Artemis Racing alongside owner Torbjorn Tornqvist with fellow British Olympic gold medallist, Paul

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Goodison, heading up Artemis Racing Youth.

Following an extremely strong first year in the Class, Nico Poon’s Charisma was vying for a podium position after finishing fourth in the 2014 Tour. America’s Cup tactician Ray Davies joined the team in Malta, giving Poons’ team had a distinct competitive advantage.

John Bassadone’s Peninsula Petroleum was starting the season as favourite, having briefly displaced Team Aqua from the top of the leaderboard during 2014 and being the only one of the frontrunners to have retained their same crew, including Italian tactician Vasco Vascotto.

Bronenosec Sailing Team was another one to watch, as a strong, up and coming team owned by Vladimir Liubomirov with Italian America’s Cup sailor Michele Ivaldi calling tactics by his side.

The Game – The Play By Play As standard, the racing format for RC44 events begins with a day of match racing, followed by four days of fleet racing on windward-leeward courses.

The forecasted conditions for the week were defined by gale force winds and rolling seas, meaning that Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio had his work cut out for him to ensure that racing was run safely and efficiently.

Match Racing Malta laid on possibly the best ever beginning to a RC44 Championship Tour, hosting a day of match racing on the capital’s Grand Harbour with the 500 year old Maltese capital of Valletta on one side and the city’s giant forts on the other.

A stunning day of racing saw six flights run in a southeasterly breeze of up to fifteen knots. As predicted,

the points were tight and at close of play, four teams were left on four wins.

Bronenosec Sailing Team and Team Nika were the only two teams to finish the day with just one loss, with Vladimir Liubomirov’s Bronenosec winning on count back and Team Nika second.

The excitement did not end there.

The boat-on-boat nature of match racing can make it an aggressive sport and, despite it being the first day of racing in the season, there was a spectacular bout between Team CEEREF and Artemis Racing Youth.

A pre-start collision saw Artemis Racing Youth deemed to be in the wrong. Then a tacking duel immediately off the line ended when Team CEEREF came in on port, without rights, and unsuccessfully attempted to duck Artemis Racing Youth, stabbing her bow into the Swedish boat’s hull. Artemis Racing Youth continued and won the point but was docked three points for the two incidents, while Team CEEREF was penalised two.

Fleet Racing Fleet racing at the RC44 Valletta Cup got off to a challenging start on Malta’s east coast, the eleven crews taking on some of the biggest waves and most confused seas they have ever encountered in their slender one designs.

Each team had its moment of glory over the course of the week, leading races and posting wins. Though it was Igor Lah’s Team CEEREF who took an early lead after the first day, with two race wins.

It was a relatively early start to proceedings for the second day of fleet racing, with racing underway a full two hours ahead of schedule.

Two races were held before the forecasted front of gale force winds arrived. Katusha stood out as the top

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Photo: RC44 Class / Martinez Studio.es

performer of the day, winning both races.

on board Vladimir Prosikhin’s Team Nika.

The third day of fleet racing was no different, and it wasn’t until 1400hrs that the wind momentarily dipped below the statutory 25 knots, allowing the start gun to be fired. Even then a mighty seaway was still running and with the wind piping up mid-race, the penultimate day of competition was one that the fleet will remember for some time, sailors returned to shore soaked to the bone, but with Cheshire cat grins.

Vladimir Liubomirov and Bronenosec completed the RC44 Valletta Cup podium, finishing two points behind Team Nika. Please with the result, Liubomirov was already looking forward to the RC44s returning to Malta. “We have to come back next year. It is one of the best places we have been to. The people are so friendly. The hospitality is at a very high level.”

With only one race contended, Torbjörn Törnqvist’s Artemis Racing led after a bouncy first beat. The Swedish crew kept its cool, hoisting the spinnaker without incident in the big conditions; a feat that some crews further back in the fleet didn’t manage.

Artemis Racing led into the leeward gate, but Nico Poons’ Charisma had caught up, overhauling on a second lively upwind to win the race. Poon’s described the day’s racing “You start a race like this, you survive. It may have looked scary on the downwinds, but I did feel like I had it perfectly under control. As the breeze started picking up more, we were a bit uncomfortable, but only because we were getting so wet.”

Conditions came good for the final races of the RC44 Valletta Cup in Malta with the wind well into the 20s and substantial waves once again and the welcome addition of Mediterranean sunshine.

Three races were successfully completed before the fleet returned to the Royal Malta Yacht Club early in the afternoon and it was Nico Poons and his Charisma team who put in another consistent day to win the RC44 Valletta Cup. Davies beat his former Emirates Team New Zealand skipper into second place, Dean Barker calling the shots

RC44 Class Manager Bertrand Favre explained why the RC44 Championship Tour visited Malta and how the island fits into the Class ethos: “We go to some beautiful venues, some iconic venues and windy venues as part of the concept of the Class. But more important is that we are looking for support from the community who we want to get involved. Here we have the support from the community and that is important to us.”

The RC44s’ first ever visit to Malta came about through the initiative of local organisers Yachting Events Ltd. ‘The RC44 Valletta Cup has been a challenging yet an immensely positive experience. What initially seemed a mammoth task, eventually became a reality and we are proud to have hosted some of the world’s top sailors and business men to our little island and look forward to hosting it again in 2016” said Niki Travers Tauss, Director, Yachting Events Ltd. “

RC44 Valletta Cup Match Racing Results 1. Bronenosec Sailing Team 4 2. Team Nika 4 3. Charisma 4 4. Peninsula Petroleum 4 5. Artemis Racing 3 6. Katusha 2 7. Team Aqua 2 8. Team CEEREF 2 9. RUS-7 Anywayanyday 2 10. MAG Racing 0 11. Artemis Racing Youth -2 RC44 Valletta Cup Fleet Racing Results 1. Charisma 29 2. Team Nika 39 3. Bronenosec Sailing Team41 4. Team Aqua 43 5. Team CEEREF 50 6. Katusha 53 7. Peninsula Petroleum 57 8. RUS 7 - Anywayanyday 61 9. Artemis Racing 64 10. Artemis Racing Youth 72 11. MAG Racing 98

We have to come “ back next year. It is one of the best places...

”

-Vladimir Liubomirov

The RC44 Valletta Cup was co-hosted by the Ministry for Economy, Investment and Small Business, supported by the Malta Tourism Authority and Transport Malta with backing from Suez Capital. www.yachtingevents.com.mt

Photo: RC44 Class / Martinez Studio.es

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2014 RACES APRIL 2014

RMYC MATCH RACING REGATTA The RMYC Match Racing Regatta was a selection race in preparation for the first International Etchells Regatta in Cowes, England.

Four teams took part from the six who originally requested invitations. One new team however was made up of new RMYC member Marco Sartori, an Italian match race veteran, originally from Fralgia Vela in Garda with conational Riccardo Morganti, Englishman Iain Muir and Otra Vez crew member Matthew Tabone. The three experienced RMYC teams showed their dominance from the start of the round robin on Saturday. Held in testing conditions with wind speeds reaching 25 knots with a few rain showers thrown in for good measure, the three teams all tied in first place, with the tie only being broken by RRS C11.1b, which effectively gives priority to the last race sailed between competitors, thus Adrian Gauci Borda came out on top with David Anastasi in second and Kurt Camilleri Burlo’ in third.

The ranking of the round robin determined the fixtures for the knock out series on Sunday with Gauci Borda earning a place in the final and, with second place for the Regatta guaranteed, a place at the International Etchells Invitational Regatta qualifier. Camilleri Burlo’ beat Sartori convincingly 2 – 0 in the best of three series to give him a chance to challenge Anastasi for a place in the final.

The first race went to Anastasi’s team and the second to Camilleri Burlo’s opening the best of five series. The third race saw the most action so far, with Camilleri Burlo’ winning the pre-start duel in the last ten seconds before the gun, leaving Anastasi starting behind with a penalty against. This resulted in 3 – 1 win for Anastasi’s team who then went on to win 3 – 0 against Gauci Borda’s team.

The winning team was David Anastasi, Jan Rossi, Mark Vassallo and Michael Anastasi.

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MAY 2014

Crewsaver Regatta Paul Ellul The Crewsaver Regatta saw a fleet of keel boats racing just off Sliema Seafront, with a diverse range of craft, including the then recently launched J-70 Class. Racing was close as light wind dominated the first race of the regatta. Juno and Unica battled it out, switching leads, but which ultimately saw Juno take the 1st place in the racer division. In the Cruiser division, 1st place went to X-plane.

Saturday brought on a strong South East with very choppy seas, causing some difficulty to the course laying team, but sheer determination saw the course set allowing for 2 races to be sailed.

In the cruising class, Allegra dominated both races. Allegra is a Beneteau 47.7 with a fairly novice crew to offshore racing, so this result was a very rewarding one for the team, especially since the conditions were not for the faint-hearted.

In the Optimist Class, the young sailors gave it their best, and results with a three way tie with equal points for second place, awards went to; Open Division 1st Craig Farrugia Vella 2nd Matthew Micallef 3rd Timo Bonnici

Novice Division 1st Saul Vassallo 2nd Katryna Vassallo 3rd Daniele Valletta

Cadet Division 1st (& 2nd Open) Richard Schulteis, 2nd Luke Rausi 3rd Neil Farrugia Vella

Laser 4.7 Class 1st Greg Mifsud 2nd Rebecca Briffa 3rd Gary Mercieca

On Sunday, all racing was cancelled due to the rough seas which made course laying virtually impossible. On a brighter note, the prize giving provided for some very exciting prizes, which were Crew Saver kit, making a nice surprise for sailors who would be able to use such equipment during their sailing activities.

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Check out our FREE ADD-ONS* JUNE 2014

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Early on Friday 27th June, a team of sailors left Malta bound Citadel Insurance p.l.c. • Casa Borgo • 26 Market Street • Floriana FRN 1082 • Tel: 2557 9000 • Freephone 800 72322 • E-mail: info@citadelplc.com Branches: Ħaż-Żebbuġ 21464873 • Il-Gżira 21332151 • Il-Mosta 21438880 • In-Naxxar 21419198 • Iż-Żejtun 21807779 • Paola 21806247 • San Ġwann 27330044 • Victoria, Gozo 21566660 for Marina di Ragusa, Sicily, for the Citadel Ragusa Regatta Tied Insurance Intermediaries: Malta • Gozo The 2014 edition had one of the highest ever number Citadel Insurance p.l.c. is a company authorised to carry on general and long year, term business of insurance is regulated by thecompeted Malta Financial Services week-end.

This a fleet ofand24 yachts in Authority. the of entries, with around 400 participants in no fewer Regatta, with a total of 144 participants.

The Citadel Ragusa than 47 yachts ranging from 35’ up to over 60’ making Regatta was organised by the Royal Malta Yacht Club and this one of the most impressive fleets in recent years. sponsored by Citadel Insurance plc for the second year round. Citadel’s continuous support of this regatta is part of May 1st Thursday – Light to moderate conditions made the Company’s commitment to promote sporting events. The great sailing conditions, if not easy ones for the diverse Citadel Ragusa week-end included a series of inshore races fleet. The approach to Marzamemi however brought where all participants competed for the Trofeo Achille Boroli out more of the experienced crews as the winds turned Challenge and the Hyblea cup, organised by the Circoli Velici rather strong. Line honours went to Unica skippered by Iblei.

Jamie Sammut, followed by Juno skippered by Sonke Stein and soon after August Rush skippered by Charles Borg Barthet all arriving by the late afternoon. Unica was also the overall winner on corrected time.

May 2nd Friday – A friendly rowing regatta was planned for the event by the Yacht Club Marzamemi in the afternoon in which five teams from the RMYC took part in the small bay. This turned out to be a great spectator and team building event.

Saturday 3rd May – A short inshore race held off the bay of Marzamemi in which a few RMYC boats and a local boat took part. Line honours went to Whistler closely followed by Inspiration and Mawimbi.

Sunday 4th May – A skippers’ meeting was held at the unholy hour of 07.00hrs. The RMYC Race Officer promptly issued a cancellation for the day’s racing due to the blustery conditions that morning.

Monday 5th May – The early risers slipped out at 03.30am, forming a long procession of yachts in very light conditions on the 58 nautical mile cruise, with motors humming away for the most part of the crossing.

However Neptune must have gotten bored and huffed his annoyance, in so doing provided a welcome moderate Westerly.

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CITADEL RAGUSA RESULTS Racer 1 1st Juno – Sonke Stein 2nd Maltese Falcon II – Matthew Scicluna 3rd – August Rush – Charles Borg Barthet Racer 2 1st Moondance – Nicky Fenech 2nd Lartista – Anton Calleja 3rd Inspiration – Godwin Zammit Cruisers 1st Aziza – Sandro Musu 2nd Elusive – Arthur Podesta 3rd Xplane – Sean Borg

A number of social events were held throughout the weekend and a prize giving reception was held at the RMYC on the 9th May. A big thank you goes to Stephen Ciantar of Hydroelectric Ltd, sole agent for Gewiss Electrical fittings.

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2014 RACES JULY 2014

54TH MALTA SYRACUSE EDITION COURSE RECORD TUMBLES Dreamer Tech, skippered by Massimo C. Savoca was the first to cross the finish line at Porto Piccolo in Syracuse clocking in at 8 hours 37 minutes and 22 seconds flat.

This was a clean hour plus record breaker against Malta’s Strait Dealer who held the previous record of 9 hours 42 minutes and 25 seconds. It was Oil Tanking Juno from the Royal Malta Yacht Club that eventually registered an impressive result on corrected time, winning the IRC class, the ORC class & the Overall titles. The race enjoyed a fresh West to North West breeze that blessed the fleet that sailed via the Malta Channel, allowing for the leading boats to reach Capo Passero well before sunset, on to a downward run to round the second turning point at Murro Del Porco, followed by a short leg towards the much anticipated finish line.

In IRC Otra Vez, another local yacht secured a respectable 2nd placing, while in the ORC Class it was Escape, another Maltese contender that clinched 3rd place.

Dreamer Tech has set a mighty challenge for future editions of this passage race and any contender vying to break the new record, will have to increase its boat speed by several knots. However, should the right conditions that might grace the waters in future, this new record can easily be slashed again.

The Prize Giving for the 54th Edition of the Malta/Syracuse race was held at the Lega Navale Di Siracusa the following day.

SEPTEMBER 2014

GO CLUB REGATTA Martin Meachen The GO RMYC Regatta saw races being held over a three day period off the Sliema front and the Club as the hub of activities.

Fifteen yachts lined up for the starter’s gun on Saturday afternoon with the racers kicking off with the first of seven round the cans races and the cruiser and double handed classes set off for a short coastal race around the St. Pauls fish farms. At the day’s end crews were treated to wine tasting and nibbles back at the club kindly laid on by Vivian Corp. There was no need for Vino Veritas, after the first few races it was becoming evident that the competition was shared by the two identical J122’s (Otra Vez and Artie) in IRC A with XP-ACT laying claim to line honours. In IRC B it was still wide open, but Windward staked its claim in the double handed class.

Day two and the breeze started to fill in anger which was to set the stage for some close, fast and exciting round the cans racing for the racer classes and a hard sail up and down the coast for the cruiser and double handed classes. Again while XP-ACT dominated the line honours, Artie and Otra Vez played cat and mouse round the course with Artie having the edge.The race committee opted to add on a fourth race for the day, but with Otra Vez abstaining, it was Artie that wrapped up proceedings having dominated the class. It was a different story in class IRC B with the boys on Moondance recovering well from the day before and themselves staking claim to their class over the new look, newly named Lightning and the brand new Sailaway on its maiden “Race” voyage. Windward closed the account in the Double Handed and Cruiser classes.

Dinghy Racing The RMYC also hosted the Optimist Class, with twenty seven dinghies hailing from The Malta Young Sailors Club and Birzebbugia Sailing club taking part.

Sunday’s winds really tested the younger novices, most of whom managed to cope with rather strong winds. In the Open class the lead changed between Craig Farrugia Vella (BSC) and Victoria Schulteis (MYSC) with Farrugia Vella gaining a two point advantage after discards. The Cadet class was dominated

by Richard Schulteis.

The Novice class saw seven newcomers to sailing battling it out over the four races held on Sunday. Young Daniele Micallef Valletta dominated with three first places.

The wind deserted the fleet on Monday 8th September, so no racing was possible. The Regatta was decided on the basis of the four races sailed on Sunday, this even allowed a discard of the sailor’s worst score.

A prize giving reception was later held at the Club.

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NOVEMBER 2014

Oiltanking Malta Offshore Race This popular offshore race of approximately 95 nautical miles is always considered to be the ideal shakedown race for crews preparing for the Rolex Middle Sea Race the following month.

The race followed a course starting off from the Tigne/Valletta Gunpost line, leaving the Valletta fairway buoy to Starboard, the Munxar Cardinal Mark to Port, the Valletta Fairway buoy to Port, the St. Paul’s Bay tuna pens to Port, Gozo to Port, the Island of Filfla to Port, the Island of Gozo to Starboard, the Tuna Pens to Starboard, the Valletta Fairway buoy to Starboard, to finish at original start line – Tigne/Valletta Gunpost line.

The Race was won by Artie, skippered by Lee Satariano on a corrected time of 14 hours 57 minutes, 40 seconds.

Raymarine Double Handed Round Malta and Gozo Race 2014 The Raymarine Figure of 8 Double Handed Round Malta Race is the longer of the two short handed races in the RMYC calendar and now in its 21st year. It follows a figure of eight course around the two islands passing through the Comino channels.

This shorthanded race has been popular since its inception and the trophy bears the names of most of Malta’s best sailors.

This race attracted interest from crews wanting to test themselves short-handed on a course which is approximately the length of the Malta-Syracuse race, at a time of year when conditions can be very challenging. This edition saw ten boats out of the sixteen starters successfully complete the course. The overall winner, whose names have been added to the prestigious trophy, were Peter Valentino and Sebastian Ripard, who competed on a J92, Pep, owned by Anton Valentino and Denis Azzopardi. Line Honours was won by Jamie Sammut and Nick Sammut on Isomat Unica, which also won IRC Class 1. The IRC Cruising Class was won by Chris Selvagi and Andrew Selvagi racing on the Dufour 44 - Puddleduck.

2014 BOV Gozo Weekend Regatta The enthusiasm and excitement experienced during the Middle Sea Race in October spilled into the month of November with the number of entries taking part in the BOV Gozo Weekend Regatta exceeding expectations.

The BOV Gozo Weekend Regatta consisted of a series of Races starting with a passage Race on the Friday, a series of windward-leeward Races close to Gozo, two short coastal Races for Cruising and Double Handed Classes on the Saturday and a passage Race down to Malta on Sunday.

From the start of the race, recent Middle Sea Race participants, Isomat Unica and Elusive II BOV raced close to each other and consistently swapped leads. Races on Friday and Saturday ended up in a tie, thus making the final Race on Sunday decisive for the two boats. After a determined performance by both boats, Isomat Unica, skippered by Jamie Sammut, won the BOV Gozo Weekend Regatta on corrected time.

In the Cruisers’ Class Stanley Borg’s XC 45 Xplane won the overall class followed by Sandro Musu’s team on Aziza.

The J70’s class saw four out of the five locally based J70’s start the race on the Friday. The overall class was won by Globe Ground, skippered by Sebastian Ripard in what was a closely fought race.

Established also on the Royal Malta Yacht Club social calendar, the BOV Gozo Weekend Regatta proves popular amongst families and friends of those taking part, who descend upon Gozo to enjoy a good weekend of exciting racing and socialising.

A Prize Giving evening was held at the Royal Malta Club.

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2014 RACES NOVEMBER 2014

J70 Class in the BOV Weekend Regatta The J70 Class were out in force and of the five J70’s in Malta only Lee Satariano’s Artie was absent. Globe Ground, RLR, Otra Vez Jr and Comanche Raider were anxious to get out on the battlefield to pit their skills against each other in this thrilling one design class.

DECEMBER 2014

Boxing Day Fun Race A staple in the Club’s calendar, this fun event saw a good number of boats taking part in the annual Boxing Day Fun Race in aid of L-Istrina.

Upon their return participants were welcomed with mulled wine and mince pies to warm up after a cold December day on the water.

Donations collected from participants and contributions made by the Club resulted in a total donation of €1,500 to L-Istrina.

The first race was a passage race to Gozo with a windward start off Tigne Point and a mark laid off Sliema Pitch to provide an exciting beat.

With positions changing constantly as the boats beat up the coast it was RLR to finish 1st just ahead of Globe Ground followed by Adrian Gauci Borda on Comanche Raider and Martin Meachen and his crew on Otra Vez Jr. On the Saturday conditions were for a South Easterly with again 15 knots of wind and lumpy sea coming in from the South making for some very difficult upwind/downwind racing.

Four races were held in testing conditions but Globe Ground with Seb Ripard at the helm proved to be the boat to beat and she came away that day with three 1st’s and one 2nd. RLR had three 2nd’s and a 3rd whilst Comanche Raider held in tight with three 3rd’s and a 1st.

Otra Vez Jr were 4th in the first 3 races but on the 3rd race had some gear failure which prevented them from continuing the Regatta.

On the Sunday the wind softened to around 10 knots and shifted into the NW and course was moved to Mellieha Bay where the boats enjoyed two fantastic upwind/downwind races in almost perfect conditions. John Ripard Jr helming RLR came away with a 3rd and a 1st whilst Globe Ground helmed on this day by Benjamin Tabone secured a 2nd and a 3rd and Adrian Gauci Borda’s crew on Comanche Raider took a 1st and a 2nd.

The BOV Gozo Weekend Regatta ended with Globe Ground and RLR tied on points with the tie broken in favour of Globe Ground as the overall winner. RLR came 2nd, Comanche Raider and Otra Vez Jr came in 3rd and 4th place respectively.

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Target: ARC Gran Canaria via Cape Verde one man’s start to a dream Spinnaker met with Peter Spiteri-Gonzi, who is closer to starting a long held dream - that of sailing across the Atlantic and beyond.

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or those not in the know, the ARC is a “must do” for many sailors, and attracts over 200 boats and 1200 people every year to sail 2700 NM across the Atlantic from Gran Canaria to Cape Verde to Saint Lucia.

More than just a boat race, the ARC is about friendships made ashore in the two weeks of pre-departure activities continued over the radio net at sea. It’s about arriving in Saint Lucia knowing you have achieved something fantastic - crossing an ocean on a small sailboat.

Peter has been involved with and worked on ships/boats for the last twenty five years. His first skippered long distance crossing was a 200 NM journey in a 28’ sailing boat to and from Greece back in 2002. Peter has clocked in quite a few miles over the years and feels that now is the right time to undertake this adventure.

Peter will be starting his adventure towards the end of July when he leaves Malta for Spain. Peter will be sailing on Melipal, a Hallberg Rassy 352 sailing boat, sloop rigged with central cockpit and motor. It has been fitted to host four crew members and has undergone a major over haul and upgrade to ensure the seaworthiness and comfort required for such a voyage.

Peter is currently looking for two experienced crew members to join him at the start of the race which leaves from Gran Canaria or en route. Ideally one of these has an Offshore Yachtmaster qualification which will facilitate the setting up of shifts throughout the voyage.

If you are interested in being part of this adventure, or know of qualified crews who might be interested, please drop a line to Peter on psgonzi@gmail.com or the Editor on maria@rmyc.org More information on Melipal can be obtained by visiting www.melipal-at-sea.com The Royal Malta Yacht Club will be keeping you updated of Peter’s progress on its social media pages and of course on Spinnaker.

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Alex Mattei Brings his Chef’pertise to the Royal Malta Yacht Club Following a call for interest to caterers, Artisan Foods Co. Ltd. were recently selected to provide a catering service to the Royal Malta Yacht Club. This includes the operation of the Club’s restaurant, and the provision of a food service for functions in other areas of the Club.

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part from managing the Club’s Restaurant, Artisan Foods took over the restaurant adjacent to the Club, which has been totally refurbished to a nautical theme and is known as The Galley.

The kitchen too was also totally refitted with the latest equipment to provide greater efficiency, speed of service, hygiene and food quality.

As befitting its name, the interior of The Galley emulates a beach house with good, natural light and soft furnishings keeping a casual and comfortable atmosphere. The venue offers indoor and outdoor areas with ample nearby parking.

Artisan Foods are a well-established company, also known for outside catering services branded as Fifth Flavour, Brown & Rye sandwich makers and Da Vinci Bakery.

These brands allow the company to offer a full ranges of catering options both at the RYMC and other outside venues.

to accommodate different requirements. The Club’s kitchen is run by Mark Camilleri, who is the executive chef at Artisan Foods. Together with his team he is responsible for the menu and its execution.

The menu, for both the Club’s restaurant and The Galley will be seasonal using local fresh ingredients which include premium meat, pasta dishes and light snacks at lunch time. Specials will change regularly to provide an exciting variety of food for the regular diner. Fish, meat and vegetarian options will be offered. Food will be priced reasonably to encourage regular diners and meet all budgets.

The Club sees this as a great opportunity to operate a successful, restaurant and provide a superior service to dining members at the Club.

For reservations, please call The Galley on (+356) 2131 8801.

Artisan Foods Co. Ltd. has a team of chefs and the production capability to produce both snack food to be served throughout the day, an ‘a la carte’ dining to be served at the restaurant and at the Club dining room for lunch and dinners as well as catering for events in two price brackets

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words by David Anastasi Rear Commodore - Sailing

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he Royal Malta Yacht Club Sailing School opened its doors to the public offering dinghy sailing courses to youths and adults older than 14 years old. Rear Commodore (Sailing) David Anastasi speaks of the club’s brand new RS Vision boats.

We are committed to deliver sailing tuition of a high standard to attract more people to our beautiful sport and pastime. I believe that learning how to sail on dinghies is the only way to learn how to sail properly. I feel that there is a gap in Maltese sailing education. The Malta Young Sailors Club is doing an admirable job teaching children from the ages of 7 to 14 on Optimists and the Birzebbugia Sailing Club runs sailing courses in both Optimists and RS Fevas. This means that if you have not started sailing from an early age and are not small enough there is little opportunity to learn how to sail properly.

Our target market is anyone from the ages of 14 to 60+; anyone who has, at one time, looked at a sailing boat and wondered how it can sail into the wind but never had the opportunity to figure it out for themselves; or those who have been on boats all their life and want to understand the finer points of sailing which can only be learnt on a dinghy.

The RMYC have teamed up with Sailcoach, who come with a wealth of experience and a track record, and am confident that we have managed to put the right team together and this initiative will help our club grow in popularity and attract new sailing members.

I believe that this initiative will bear fruit in the years to come with more crews keen to race in our IRC regattas, match racing and the new J70 class; this may even lead us to setup dinghy and youth sections of our club.

For more information visit the RMYC website: www.rmyc.org or our new Facebook page: www.facebook.com/RMYC.sailingschool or contact us by email: sailingschool@rmyc.org

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Meet the RMYC Sailing School Team Trevor Millar Founder and Executive Director Trevor’s innovative coaching style has landed him a countless awards and honours over the past 33 years, with his athletes winning Olympic medals, European titles, World number one rankings, ISAF Youth medals and many World Cup and Europa Cup victories.

Trevor, originally from the small village of Newtownards on the outskirts of Belfast began his prestigious coaching career with the RYA where he was the National Laser Coach with Team GBR for several years, enjoying successes at World and European Championship levels. He later moved back to his native Ireland where he set up the Irish Olympic Development Sailing Team, and coached his squad of single and double handers on the international stage. Renowned for his visionary approach to coaching, Trevor later set up the SailCoach Foundation where he has guided sailors from an array of different nations to 6 Olympic Games and countless World, European and World Cup Championships with a plethora of silverware along the way. His experience at the highest end of our sport is unique in today’s age and his knowledge and medal winning formulae are of great benefit to the young sailors presently in Team SailCoach.

Jon Cooper Strength and Conditioning Coach Jon is a keen Laser sailor himself and a qualified RYA dinghy and power boat instructor from Leicester in the British Midlands. His degree is in Applied Sport Science (Water Sports & Outdoor Activities) from Southampton Solent University, with this he is brings a scientific approach to the job that will set him apart from other Strength and Conditioning coaches in our sport. Before joining SailCoach he spent the last year working for Crystal Palace Football Club in London as well as becoming a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist. We have tasked Jon with creating fitness plans for all of our sailors, and then working with them on an ongoing basis to reach and then maintain their personal fitness goals. During competition, he will assist with pre-race warm-up and post-race recovery.

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RMYC teams up with International Maritime Academy In February 2015 the RMYC entered into an agreement with the newly formed International Maritime Academy to provide both informal and accredited courses from the RMYC. “The company was set up in 2014 and is a fully accredited Royal Yachting Association Training Centre as well as being Transport Malta accredited thus being able to provide the local Nautical License.

We are very excited to have been able to reach an agreement with the Royal Malta Yacht Club and look forward to developing our relationship further” Ben Stuart, director of the International Maritime Academy said. “As an Academy we decided to pursue the RYA accreditation as a recent survey classified the RYA sailing qualifications as the premiere sailing accreditation for excellence and global reputation.”

The International Maritime Academy, as an RYA Training Centre will be able to provide a number of RYA approved courses ranging from Jet Ski to Yacht Master Ocean theory as well as RYA First Aid. The Academy will also be able to offer courses leading to the Nautical License as well as STCW 95 training.

A degree of flexibility is also available for those who do not wish or are not in a position to spend days on a course but wish to benefit from the suite of courses and talks available in more manageable timeframes.

The Academy is also approved to provide International Certificates of Competence.

RMYC Commodore Godwin Zammit commented that the Club is very pleased with the relationship that has been formed with the International Maritime Academy. “We have known Ben Stuart for many years and we feel that the RMYC has found a partner which brings an aspect to the Yacht Club which has been a challenge to achieve. We hope that you come and visit the team at the Marina Office and learn more about what they have to offer” Members of the Royal Malta Yacht Club will be entitled to a 10% discount on courses offered by the Academy, upon presentation of their membership card.

The International Maritime Academy can be found online on www.imamalta.com alternatively contact Ben on +356 7920 0849

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Exclusively availabe from: Ripard Larvan & Ripard Limited 156 . Ta’ Xbiex Seafront . Gzira . GZR 1020 www.rlryachting.com

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issue 1 SPRING 2015

Evinrude BRP ENGINES For 2015, BRP revealed a new outboard engine that produces up to 75% fewer total regulated emissions, with 15% better fuel efficiency and 20% more torque than leading four-stroke engines. The “G2 Engines”, are the next generation of Evinrude E-TEC outboard engines with figures that speak for themselves!

BRP’s Evinrude brand is an integral part of one of the most innovative powersports companies in the world. Their reputation for inventing and reinventing the playgrounds we’re in dictates that a new era in outboard engine technology and design would originate from BRP. The Evinrude E-TEC G2 outboard engine delivers unrivaled performance with best-in-class torque and fuel efficiency and lowest total emissions. Available for the 2015 Summer, the G2 range starts at 200 H.O. up to 300R.A.V.E. The new E-TEC G2 engine offers the first and only customizable look, the only clean rigging and fully integrated digital controls.

These innovations now allow consumers to choose the absolute perfect combination of boat and engine by selecting top and front panels, as well as accent colors that match your boat.

BRP’s next generation of Evinrude E-TEC engines will be backed by unmatched value with the industry’s best engine warranty, least maintenance and best-in-class fuel efficiency. BRP is the only engine offering 5-5-5: 5-year engine warranty, 5-year corrosion warranty, and 500 hours with no dealer-scheduled maintenance, allowing for the most time on the water.

The company launched its first-generation Evinrude E-TEC technology in 2003 and added to the line a broad spectrum of horsepower options for any boating need. The innovative technology has delivered on more power and torque while achieving and surpassing the EPA’s clean air standards for more than 10 years. BRP’s technological breakthroughs with the Evinrude E-TEC technology have also allowed for fewer dealer visits and less engine maintenance over time, giving boaters more time on the water. G2 engines join other Evinrude E-TEC product innovations like the new Pontoon Series engines to provide best-in-class performance.

This engine stands alone, in the industry and on the water. Until now, achieving these levels of performance and integration was unheard of. Add to this the fact that this engine produces, by far, the fewest emissions of any outboard engine on the water, and it’s clear to see why the new Evinrude E-TEC G2 engines will change the face of boating.

BRP’s Evinrude engine line-up from 3.5 to 300 horsepower offers customers superior value across a full range of applications.

Engines are available from RLR Ltd, official Authorised Distributors for the Maltese Islands.

For more information, contact info@rlryachting.com

Exclusively availabe from: Ripard Larvan & Ripard Limite 156 . Ta’ Xbiex Seafront . Gzira . G www.rlryachting.com

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www.sdyachts.com

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T: [+356] 2133 15 15 M: [+356] 9920 34 44 E: info@sdyachts.com

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issue 1 SPRING 2015

The World of Wealth Management Wealth Management is generally perceived as the offering of private banking services and investment advice to wealthy individuals and their families. However, it is much more than that.

Here we speak to Aldo Scardino, Executive Head of Wealth Management at Bank of Valletta to gain better insight into this world.

What do you understand by Wealth Management?

Wealth Management is intrinsically about the management of close relationships with clients focused on the growth and preservation of the clients’ wealth over time. Indeed, these relationships are carried across generations with many of our longstanding clients introducing Bank of Valletta to their children so that we can help them grow their own investments with a view of absorbing their future bequests.

Managing a relationship starts with the profiling of the client in order to be able to match appropriate investment vehicles that are adequate for the individual, his circumstances and objectives. All this is a result of a disciplined and rigorous research process, structuring appropriate and suitable investment proposals and their prompt execution in the market, whilst monitoring investments and the safekeeping of assets. All this is done in the ambit of a long term personal relationship.

What does BOV Wealth Management offer as added value to its clients?

Bank of Valletta’s ethos is ‘Know your client’. This principle is fundamental for the team at BOV Wealth Management.

Thus, we can guarantee a truly personalised service that is unique for every client. Our aim is to build a tailor made portfolio of investments that fits our clients’ financial needs, objectives and risk tolerance. This can only be achieved when the financial advisor spends time and effort to get to know the client and manage the portfolio and the relationship. We will take the time to meet up with every client ensuring we understand his/her preferences, objectives and individual requirements. Meeting the clients regularly helps us understand the level of risk sought, the duration of the investment, income goals and any other factors deemed important for the investment relationship to succeed.

At BOV Wealth Management we are also geared to offer tailored services to corporate and institutional clients, trusts and ‘family offices’. The overseas sector is also a growing sector with foreign clients representing the fastest growing segment, as Malta is quickly establishing itself as an international financial services centre of repute Irrespective of the segment, clients will increasingly demand that their advisors manage their wealth as professionally as they would manage their own business, prompting advisors to offer a broader and deeper range of financial products and services, efficiently, at a competitive cost, and with peace of mind.

The BOV Wealth Management outfit forms part of the largest financial organisation in Malta, the origins of which date back to 1809, and to this very date is one of the major drivers of the Maltese economy. We offer the full suite of financial services including personal and private banking, investment management and fiduciary services. Thus, we are in a position to help our clients take charge of, and safeguard their financial future and throughout generations.

How do you see the business of wealth management developing in the future?

Globalisation is increasingly shaping the investment focus for high-net-worth individuals and is evolving from the traditional focus on the European and North American capital markets to a more varied investment universe that not only includes more sophisticated and remote investment instruments and asset classes, but also markets such as Asia and the Middle East, which were previously considered ‘exotic’ for most investors. This evolution will accelerate at an unprecedented rate as the wave of wealth transfer to younger generations takes hold. The new generation of investors is more adventurous, more risk tolerant, and internationally focused, whilst being also more technologically confident.

Furthermore, our advisors do not work in silos, but have the support of a thoroughly dedicated research team. This team provides advisors with up-to-date information about the financial markets and the various investment options and trading strategies. Thus, we can ensure that our advice is not only customised to the individual client, but is also based on an in-depth understanding of the prevailing market scenario.

At Bank of Valletta, we take pride in being the Bank of choice for our market, including in the area of Wealth Management. This requires constant investment in our people and in our capabilities in order to be able to advise on, trade, settle, monitor and keep custody of investment instruments and products efficiently and effectively for our customers.

Who are the typical Wealth Management clients?

Typically, the personal segment represents the core of the BOV’s Wealth Management client base. When we refer to personal clients, we are generally speaking of wealthy families rather than wealthy individuals. This is the result of longstanding relationships developed with our clients.

We want to tailor our relationship banking model to the type of client interaction that will be expected of us in the future. One thing will remain unchanged: the fact that wealth management is fundamentally built on the concept of relationship management. Bank of Valletta has strong credentials in this respect.

Issued by Bank of Valletta p.l.c., 58, Triq San Żakkarija, il-Belt Valletta, VLT 1130 Bank of Valletta p.l.c. is a credit institution authorised by the Malta Financial Services Authority

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The Notarial Archives

a priceless treasure yet to be discovered

The Notarial Archives in St Christopher Street, Valletta, house a veritable repository of more than 2km of shelving, or some 20,000 registers, containing notarial records, some of which date back to the late fifteenth-century. These archives, which hold amongst the oldest records in Malta, provide an uninterrupted 600 year old link with the past and are commonly referred to by historians as the “collective memory of the Maltese nation”. Between the covers of the beautifully bound registers lies a highly interesting, and mostly still undiscovered, social and economic history of Maltese private and public life. Notaries, together with clergymen, formed that social group on whom the largely illiterate mass of the population from all walks of life depended. Consequently these records contain a mass of detailed information that would have otherwise been lost.

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he Notary was a main public figure whose services were required by people coming from various strata of society, from the slave to the Grand Master. Thus, notarial sources do not only shed light on the story of great men who held important positions, but also give voice to those who were always silent in history – slaves, women, farmers, servants, children and other people in the margins of society. These deeds include, sales and exchanges of land, animals or slaves, money loans, business and corsairing ventures and investments, marine insurance contracts, bills of exchange and commissions. Other binding agreements include marriage contracts, wills, donations and dowries. Notaries enjoyed the trust of practically all the population. Of course, this trust was partially a forced one since illiteracy was rife and most people were ignorant of legal terminology.

Amongst this important national collection are several, sometimes unrelated, documents such as groups of manuscript transcriptions of court proceedings, notarial notes and loose leaf documents of a miscellaneous nature. Dr Joan Abela, who is the President of the Notarial Archives Resources Council (NARC), explains that all of the documents are equally precious, however, due to their extreme rarity some of the documents stand out from others. The jewel in the Archive’s crown is Pietro Caxaro’s Kantilena, which is the oldest poem written in late medieval Maltese. This was composed sometime before Pietro’s death in 1485 and represents the earliest documented effort by a writer to transcribe in Roman characters the spoken language of Malta in order to immortalize his thoughts and feelings in a literary product.

Various historians have spent years of patient research at the Notarial Archives, diligently opening up the metaphorical window on Maltese socio-economic history.

Godfrey Wettinger studied registers that shed new light on the topography and nomenclature of the Maltese islands and on hitherto unexplored areas like Slavery and the Jewish community in medieval Malta. Stanley Fiorini

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transcribed the earliest extant notarial material that exists in Malta, those of Notaries Paulo Bonello and Giacomo Zabbara dating to 1467. He also brought to light information about the Greek community which settled in the port city of Birgu with the arrival of the Knights Hospitallers in 1530, and the resettlement of the island of Gozo after the 1551 Turkish incursion which saw the whole of the island’s population being taken to slavery. Joan Abela analyzed port activities and ancillary services in the pre-Siege period, thus making a solid contribution to economic maritime studies for the period 1500-1565. John Debono uncovered activities of the harbour area in the second half of the eighteenth century. His latest contribution is an important work on art and artisans in Malta between 1650 and 1800.

University students have also presented a handsome number of dissertations that provide in depth studies of particular notarial registers, but the dearth and volume of the repository is still largely untouched.

“The importance of researching sources such as notarial acts, is that these are moulded by the spirit of time in which they were written,” said Dr Abela. “They make an impression upon the reader that volumes of secondhand accounts can never transmit. They are the outcome of the coming together of different parties, before a legal representative, in a particular period that was regulated by its own laws and customs. They therefore provide a snapshot of the daily lives and activities of a diverse span of the population.”

The repeated use of phrases and formulae in notarial acts are the product of a mentality that had witnessed centuries of social developments. A case in point is the use of the phrase, como uno sacco de ossa, (like a sack of bones) which was used in transactions concerning both slaves and animals wherein the ‘commodity’ was sold tale quale, that is with all its defects. Such phrases reflect a society wherein the human aspect of a slave was totally ignored.

Other phrases such as, armato per andare al corso contra

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1. The notarial archives in Valletta are a veritable mine of information to the researcher. 2. The will of the Maltese patriot Dun Mikiel Xerri which was drawn up just a few hours before his execution. 3. The Archives at St Christopher Street are not just a simple collection of ‘Registers’ a large number of them are the only extant copy of original deeds. 4. The Notary had to bind his volumes in parchment by law. As in this case parchment was often re-cycled from beautiful illuminated manuscripts. 5. It was common practice to use the Name of God the calling of the Holy Spirit and various verses from the Scriptures at the beginning of each calendar year. 6. Turkish letters found on board enemy ships which were scrutinized for spying purposes. Photo courtesy of Notarial Archives, Valletta.

infidelis, (armed to go corsairing against the infidel) refer to the incessant religious struggle between Christians and Ottomans, and al nome de dio bon viaggio a salvamento amen (in the name of God may you have a safe trip amen) refers to the perils awaiting mariners in the pirate infested seas of the Mediterranean.

Patriarchal authority is particularly highlighted in marriage contracts and testaments. They placed the father centre stage, represented him as the administrator of the family patrimony, and indicated relationships particularly in reference to him. On the other hand women, despite legal limitations on their right to act independently, also possessed a certain degree of authority, especially in their right to retain their dowry with the husband being deprived of the right to alienate it without their permission.

The notary’s role in these arrangements was not to make decisions for the family but to represent his clients’ choices in a manner unassailable at law. He added payments to the parish priest for funerary services, inserted words of affection to explain bequests, stipulated that the widow would only keep family property while she remained unmarried, and required that all children inheriting be legitimate. Thus, notaries were themselves responsible for many of the provisions that historians often take as evidence for general attitudes towards family relations and gender roles.

giving us to save this invaluable paper heritage for posterity, we appeal to students, graduates and historians to consider them for their research. Their contribution to the documentation of Maltese history would be priceless.”

The ongoing rehabilitation project at the Notarial Archives is being spearheaded by NARC, which is a voluntary organization that works incessantly to get funding from private sponsorships in order to stop the deterioration process which is fast destroying this precious collection.

Some of the manuscripts can be “adopted” by private companies or individuals. “Adoption” entails sponsoring the conservation treatment. The sponsorship schemes vary from €100 to €50,000 and over. One can adopt a notary, a volume or even just an item, so there is a possibility for everyone to invest in the conservation of this. All work shall be carried out under the supervision of a qualified conservator and a periodical report is issued to record progress.

Those interested may contact Dr Joan Abela at: joanchabela@gmail.com

It is also to be remembered that many of these notaries had been witnesses to some of the most turbulent episodes in Maltese history, like the Turkish invasion of 1551, the Great Siege of 1565, the French Revolution, recurrent famines and other milestones in Maltese history.

“These in themselves are enough to illustrate the treasure horde of information that such data would yield to the meticulous researcher and scholar,” said Dr Abela. “And while thanking our sponsors for the great push they’re

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issue 1 SPRING 2015

Who I Met At The Bar

words by FRANCESCA VINCENTI

We all do it. We all breeze in and out of the RMYC for one reason or another; for meetings, lunch, sailing lessons, briefing, protest hearings, prize giving or simply to just hang out and say hello to a familiar face or two. But if you’re anything like the rest of us, we sometimes just walk by people we don’t really know with just a nod of the head, or we throw a casual smile at someone who’s become somewhat of a regular patron without so much as even knowing the person’s name or life story. Who I Met At The Bar is a new corner feature that crosses the barriers of just a hello. We get to know our fellow sailors or members. This month, we met up with Michael Lawrence. He’s not quite your idea of Lawrence of Arabia, but he’s an adventurer & has been a hero to many whose lives he has touched, all the same.

How did you get into Sailing Mike?

I was 12 years old and lived in Plymouth. Some say that my family are descended from Viking blood since they invaded and occupied the shores there for centuries. My great grandfather and grandfather both served simultaneously on the HMS Fox and sailed with the East Indies Company. My entire family come from a line of navy men, except for my dad. I’ve raced the Fastnet, the Round Britain Race, crossed the Atlantic and sailed the Cayman Islands too.

Were you racing the Fastnet during the infamous storm of 1974?

No, I was sitting cosy at the bar of the Plymouth Sound yacht club when 200 or so yachts came in. It was a terrible storm, a few lost their lives and many yachts were severely damaged.

Do you have a favourite Sailing Story to share?

The best sailing experience I ever had was when I was asked to join a 65ft catamaran called ‘Go Free’ across the Atlantic. They had never sailed offshore before and took me along for the experience that I had to offer and my engineer skills. We were 4 crew in all and left from Malta on 20 September 2011. We took the same course that the ARC Race was taking, just a week ahead of them. We were a great team and we were stocked up with adequate food and drink It was marvelous to see humpback whales, dolphins, sharks and all types of sea creatures up close.

Half way across the Atlantic it was so calm it was like a mill pond, so we stopped, put on our snorkel gear and jumped in. We didn’t see any fish then, but later while we fished from the boat, yellowfin tuna and barracuda were abundant and we even lost one of our catches to a large shark. That was the end of us thinking about another snorkel I tell you!

What brought you to Malta and more importantly, what keeps you here?

As the old cliché goes, I needed a change after a lifethreatening experience made me suggest to my wife Jill

that we sell off one of our houses, buy a yacht and sail around the world. That was the intention. We bought our yacht called ‘Fushion’ from Paros, in Greece; she’s a one off Bruce Roberts’ design and was built in Athens. Roberts is renowned for his design of steel yachts. Fushion was just what we had envisioned and I fell in love with the boat right away. I singlehandedly sailed her here in November of 2007, so you can imagine the weather then! When I had her on the hard at Manoel island, I made friends with a local chap who offered me my first ever ‘hobza’. Over time, I made more friends and soon enough Malta felt like home away from home to me. Jill joined me when I laid my fist moorings at Lazzarett and later we moved to Pieta. We’ve got two dogs that are part of our crew – Blitz the three legged Pirate and Ruben. Jill is constantly cleaning the boat, what with the dog paws coming in and out. She fits in perfectly with the local Maltese ladies who are so house proud!

Who are you, when you are not at the bar or on the boat?

I’m a medic. Trained in nursing for emergency ambulance and rescue. Our unit worked closely with the Mountain Rescue team. I’ve seen a lot of things in my time. When the Lockerbie disaster happened, I was one of the first response units to arrive on the scene, as part of the large Search and Rescue.

I also worked in collaboration with the RAF coastal rescue division and it’s not a job for the faint hearted when you have to deal with catastrophic accidents, to missing children, but there were some happy endings which made it all worthwhile. I once was able to locate a missing 12 year old girl and found her alive and well in a private garden.

Naturally Social services get involved and follow up such cases to determine the reasons why a child went missing from home and ensure proper care, help and support.

I was also an avid mountaineer. It was my passion. I’ve climbed every notable high mountain in the British isles and in many ways, it was somewhat of a meditation for me that helped me deal with the tougher aspects of my job.

On the social side of life, I had formed part of the committee Caterpillar International Club in Leicester. Its a social and sport club that organised events for charity, such as a fly overs by the Red Arrows team, raft races down the river Avon and other interesting things.

Do you have anything you’d like to add?

Yes. If the RYMC ever needs a hand organising social events, I would be more than happy to help out.

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Malta’s approach to addressing the

jellyfish problem

Jellyfish, or better still, gelatinous plankton (since some gelatinous species are actually not jellyfish), have become an indelible component of our seas, uninvited guests within bathing areas each summer. Such primitive creatures, which are considered veritable living fossils since they first appeared over 600 million years ago (i.e. way before the dinosaurs), are inflicting all sorts of socio-economic impacts on coastal zones around the world. The stings inflicted to bathers each summer and the consequent impact on the touristic amenity of an area, are just the tip of the iceberg. Some gelatinous species are capable of much worse. For instance, the nomadic jellyfish, a species native of the Indian Ocean which has entered the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal in the early 1970’s and which can reach the size of a large football, regularly shuts down electrical power stations in Israel by clogging the cooling water intake pipes, and closes down beaches in view of its nasty sting. The warty comb jelly (also known as the sea walnut) has crippled the anchovy and sardine fisheries in the Black Sea ever since its inadvertent introduction, through shipping, from North American waters.

I

t’s a given that scientists cannot be everywhere all the time….this would be ideal to monitor the occurrence of jellyfish blooms.

One way to achieve such ubiquity is through citizen science, which involves the formal or informal training of the general public to collect scientific data in the field on behalf of scientists. This cost-effective protocol is very popular, being deployed by scientists worldwide for different scopes, from the monitoring of bird populations to those of jellyfish, or even to alert scientists about the levels of atmospheric pollution through their smart phone.

The Spot the Jellyfish campaign has been conducted since 2010 by the Physical Oceanography Unit based at the University of Malta, being led by the undersigned and colleages within the same Institute, on the back of seed funding received from the International Ocean Institiute (IOI), an international NGO. Through financial support from the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), a series of informative seaside panels have been installed on the most popular local beaches, soliciting the public to submit reports of any jellyfish individuals they encounter whilst bathing. The ame artwork as the seaside panel has been printed in the form of posters and leaflets distributed amongst all local scuba diving clubs and other stakeholders, including the Malta

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National Aquarium.

All submitted reports can be viewed online as a summary map on the same website which depicts jellyfish occurrence and distribution on a spatial and temporal scale. The campaign is supported by the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), Nature Trust (Malta), the EkoSkola network, BlueFlag, Friends of the Earth and Sharklab, with numerous talks To date, since its inception, almost 1,500 jellyfish reports have been submitted by the public and ten species of gelatinous plankton previously unknown from our waters have been recorded, including stingers like the nomadic jellyfish, the compass jellyfish and the stunning Hula skirt siphonophore, but also a variety of non-stingers, including the blue button, the crystal jellyfish and an array of comb jellies. Perhaps the most charismatic of all jellyfish species is the by-thewind sailor, a veritable miniature living sailing boat which normally blooms during summer.

A growing technological arsenal is supporting the scientific effort to collect more information about jellyfish. A smart phone app (MED JELLY) was launched in the summer of 2014, giving users indispensable information on how to treat the stings of specific jellyfish species as well as useful logistical information on every local beach, including list of amenities present on the same beach, accessibility and also local weather conditions. Users can also submit reports of jellyfish encountered on local beaches, along with accompanying photos, through the same application, which is available for free download on both Android and iPhone platforms. The MED JELLY smart phone app was developed within the framework of the MED-JELLYRISK project (funded under the ENPI-CBCMED framework), within

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which the PO Unit is participating, with the assistance of the Alert Group (www.jellyrisk.eu). Within the same project, a jellyfish dispersion model is being developed by the same University Institute, using the rationale behind an oil spill mode, forecasting the trajectory being taken by a jellyfish bloom once it’s spotted. In so doing, the model gives 3-4 days notice of the beaches where the bloom is most likely to hit and thus providing coastal managers with welcome foresight on the same issue.

The University’s participation within the MED-JELLYRISK project has made possible the publication of a diverse array of popular science tools, including waterproof factsheets and sting treatment booklets, indispensable tools for the beach buff in the advent of a jellyfish bloom. The treatment advised on the published booklets is based on the latest scientific evidence emerging within different studies and is specific to each jellyfish species. This debunks the myth that one-treatment-fits-all where jellyfish stings are concerned, with a dose of vinegar being a panacea for all sorts of stings, when in actual fact, the chemical might even exacerbate matters for such stings, such as those of the common mauve stinger species. One additional activity aimed at shoring up coastal managers is the installation of a MED-JELLYRISK anti-jellyfish net within a local bay, slated in for the summer of 2015. The local socio-economic impact of jellyfish blooms on the tourism industry is also being assessed within the project, through the deployment of a short questionnaire being distributed amongst tourists visiting our shores.

Jellyfish sightings can also be reported online by visiting an ad hoc campaign website - www.ioikids.net/jellyfsh - or can also be submitted through an SMS on 7960 4109, or by sending an email message to ioi-moc@um.edu.mt or to alan.deidun@um.edu.mt.

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Grey Decks,

words by Lieutenant Keith Caruana Public Affairs Office, Armed Forces of Malta

Men in Blue Photo: AFM

P

ositioned in the heart of the Mediterranean and with a Search and Rescue Region stretching over 250,000 square kilometres, Malta’s Maritime presence lays as one of the core functions of its’ Armed Forces. Established in 1973 the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) is Malta’s military organisation tasked with primary defence functions and safeguarding national sovereignty and interest. Being an island state one cannot rationally talk about the defence of national interest without emphasising the essential presence and control of Maltese waters. As Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan back in 1890 stated in his book ‘The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660- 1763’, geo-political strategy of a nation should always incorporate the natural equilibrium and symbiotic relationship between commerce and a reliable naval projection.

Malta is not only a maritime hub that made good use of its natural harbours throughout its’ history, but as an Independent Republic, the Maltese Archipelago was bound to develop its own modest naval presence. Due to the limitation of our resources and at times volatile scenarios in the Mediterranean region, we had our fair share of challenges and accomplishments. In the 70’s and 80’s the Maltese economy was in its infancy and investment in Naval hardware was always present but limited to second hand patrol vessels donated by other states. Nonetheless the versatility and resourcefulness of our men in blue working in the workshops at the maritime squadron, always secured constant operational capability out at sea, be it on Maritime Law Enforcement duties or conducting essential Search and Rescue missions. Same can be said for the AFM’s Air Wing that at the time relied on donated helicopters and second hand aircraft.

Background Photo: Bdr Justin Gatt / AFM Public Affairs Office

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As time progressed, Maltese authorities recognised the importance of a modern nation to have a modern Armed Force with an adequate but credible Maritime Projection capability. For the first time in its’ history, administratively, the Maritime Squadron at Hay Wharf became an independent ‘regiment’ and started to acquire brand new vessels. Two Vittoria Class Search and Rescue Vessels (Melita I & Melita II) built in 1998 by Vittoria Naval Shipyard, Adria – Italy, were initially operated by the Civil Protection Department. These were transferred to the AFM in May 1999. The versatile water jet powered vessels, proved extremely trustworthy and serve as the workhorses of the squadron especially during search and rescue operations particularly in demanding weather conditions . Melita I and Melita II underwent mid-life upgrade works between April and July 2011. Recently, thanks to a coordinated effort by AFM officers, the European Union funded the refurbishment and improvement of these vessels extending their operational lifetime for years to come.

A momentous time for Maritime Squadron personnel was the acquisition of P51, an offshore patrol vessel commissioned on the 18 November 2002. On the 7th of July of 2004 her sister, P52 was also commissioned and started to operate in Maltese Waters and beyond. Both Protector class patrol boats were built by Bollinger Shipyards to US Coast Guard specification. The US-donated vessels are based on the hull of the Damen Stan Patrol 2600 in service with the US Coast Guard and the Hong Kong police. This vessel is capable of deploying a 5.5m RHIB by means of a stern ramp, aft of vessel. The Offshore Capability of the AFM was to be further enhanced by the purchase of a brand new Offshore vessel with a displacement of 399 tonnes (full load).Financed through the 5th Italo-Maltese Protocol. P61 was commissioned on the 3rd of November

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Photo: Bdr Justin Gatt / AFM Public Affairs Office

Photo: Bdr Justin Gatt / AFM Public Affairs Office

2005. The contract included training and logistics. The P61’s design is based on the ‘DICIOTTI’ (modified SAETTIA) class vessels that are in service with the Italian Coast Guard, however the AFM’s vessel was to be upgraded and modified with a helicopter deck and stern ramp for launching a 7 metre Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat.

Following the significant and relatively speedy investment in the offshore capability the AFM at the time, the Force was still relying on old vessels for its daily inshore maritime operations and four new Austal Patrol Vessels were therefore built to AFM’s specifications in Australia.

Concurrently the AFM’s Fixed Wing capability was further enhanced with the purchase of two Maritime Patrol Aircraft, the King Air B200. The above mentioned projects were co-funded by the EU as the AFM took centre stage after benefiting from the bulk of €84 million given to Malta between 2007-2013 .

Planning and preparation to attain EU Funds remained key throughout recent years as the AFM’s Maritime Squadron received three Interceptor Vessels (P02, P03, P04). These vessels are versatile and host specialised soldiers carrying out Maritime Law Enforcement Operations. In the past weeks one of these vessels just returned from a three month deployment in Greece during Frontex Border Control Operations in Lesvos. The AFM Maritime Squadron is also home to two new Defender Class boats that were donated by the US Embassy. One of these together with a Search and Rescue Launch are permanently based in Gozo and provide excellent round the clock service to the North and West Coast of the Islands. In the meantime the AFM embarked on the largest project in its history, the acquisition of two brand new multi-engine AW 139 helicopters. The new helicopters, costing some €15 million each, are fitted with

Photo: Bdr Justin Gatt / AFM Public Affairs Office

Photo: AFM

tailor made rescue equipment and have double the range of the single-engined Alouettes currently in service. Further plans are currently being scribbled, but we will go into this in future editions.

The lines above provide a partial chronological overview of the tangible investment the AFM has made but unfortunately we rarely get the opportunity to unveil the hard work of our soldiers and the return of such investment back to the taxpayer. To do so it is opportune to let figures speak once again. From 1994 to 2014 the AFM conducted over 1000 rescue missions and saved 13781 lives. 1512 of these were fellow seafarers and fishermen. These statistics not only contribute to our professional portfolio but lay sheer testimony of the personal qualities of our men and women in uniform. For us these are not just numbers, they are the fuel that drive human engine that steer our boats, our Force, our motivation. Being of service towards the nation, its’ people and those passing from our waters is not just a job; It’s a way of life that is ingrained in the ethos of our soldiers.

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Opportunities for learning at the MCAST Maritime Institute The Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) is the country’s leading Vocational Education and Training Institution. Through its ten Institutes it offers over one hundred and eighty-five full-time and two hundred and seventy part-time training courses in a wide variety of fields.

The MCAST Maritime Institute provides high-quality training and education in the Maritime sector. Besides the fulltime courses on offer, the Institute also provides a wide range of part-time nautical courses. These range from Basic Seamanship and Safe Boat handling to Yachtmaster (Offshore) courses.

courses are delivered during evenings or on Saturdays at a controlled pace in order to help candidates complete the training programmes successfully.

For further information on the part-time courses offered by the College kindly send an email to shortcourses@mcast.edu.mt or call 2398 7116/103 or visit our website http://shortcourses.mcast.edu.mt

The MCAST Maritime Institute is the leading maritime training institution on the Maltese Islands. The full-time and part-time courses lead to the attainment of the national and international nautical licences required to establish a career in the maritime industry. Key stakeholders in this sector have, on several occasions, expressed their satisfaction at the high level of preparedness shown by our graduates.

Employers are encouraged to recruit the students as the training programmes they undertake focus on hands-on experience. This is achieved through the institute’s sea- and land-based facilities, including bridge and communication simulators and extensive work placements, ranging from six months to one year ocean-going experiences.

The part-time courses are particularly attractive to busy adults who otherwise would not have the opportunity to follow full-time courses during the day. The part-time

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Boat Friendly Recipes There is nothing better than eating your own catch. Artisan Foods (operators of The Galley Restaurant) have come up with simple delicious recipes that can be prepared easily with a few fresh ingredients.

Agro Dolce Tuna Carpaccio Serves 4 Ingredients 1 Kilo of Fresh Tuna – remove the skin, trim excessively fatty parts and bloody darker flesh.

For the Dressing Handful chopped parsley 1 Clove of Garlic grated 1 Teaspoon Chilli Flakes 2 Tablespoons of sugar 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar Juice of 1 Lemon 300 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil

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Method This is a simple dressing that makes any raw fish or prawns taste delicious. Make sure that your fish is very fresh maybe even just caught. Do your best to slice it thinly. Serve as a starter or as a platter to share.

Slice your fish thinly and place on a large flat plate. Mix all the dressing ingredients well until the sugar dissolves. Pour this over the fish and allow to marinate for several hours in the fridge before serving. Serve on bread or with a fresh leaf salad.

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Spaghetti with Sea urchin roe Serves 4 Ingredients 1 jar of bought sea urchin roe or about 30-40 sea urchins Handful of parsley chopped Juice and zest of ½ a lemon 1 Onion finely chopped 6 Tablespoons of olive oil 12 Cherry tomatoes halved 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped Sea salt and freshly ground pepper 500g spaghetti Method Heat the olive oil in a medium sized frying pan and add the chopped onions and garlic, sauté until transparent. You then add the halved tomatoes, parsley, salt and pepper, and cook further until the mixture is well blended at which point you add the sea urchin roes. Squeeze the lemon juice and sprinkle the zest onto the sauce, mix briskly and add to the cooked, drained spaghetti. Serve immediately.

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Luxury essentials Spinnaker gets a preview of the new Rolex models.

THE ROLEX OYSTER PERPETUAL - THE QUINTESSENTIAL OYSTER ROLEX PRESENTS NEW VERSIONS OF ITS QUINTESSENTIAL OYSTER PERPETUAL MODEL, INTRODUCING AN ENTIRELY NEW 39 MM SIZE AS WELL AS EXCLUSIVE NEW DIALS FOR THE 26, 31 AND 34 MM SIZES. CREATING AN ENTIRE FAMILY OF DIFFERENT SIZES AND ATTRACTIVE DIAL COLOURS FOR A MODEL THAT AFFORDS FULL ACCESS TO THE ROLEX LEGEND.

THE ROLEX YACHTMASTER - A CHIC, SPORTY AND TECHNICAL WATCH ROLEX IS INTRODUCING A NEW BLACK AND 18CT EVEROSE GOLD VERSION OF ITS NAUTICAL OYSTER PERPETUAL YACHT-MASTER, FITTED EXCLUSIVELY WITH THE INNOVATIVE OYSTERFLEX BRACELET DEVELOPED AND PATENTED BY ROLEX. THIS TECHNICAL BRACELET COMBINES IN A SINGULAR WAY THE ROBUSTNESS AND RELIABILITY OF A METAL BRACELET WITH THE FLEXIBILITY, COMFORT AND AESTHETICS OF AN ELASTOMER STRAP. This new Yacht-Master is offered in two sizes: 40 mm and a new 37 mm diameter. Its Oyster case in 18ct Everose gold includes a rotatable bezel fitted with a new Cerachrom insert in black ceramic with polished raised numerals on a matt background. This finish underscores the similar contrast between the polished 18ct Everose gold watch case and the matt black of the Oysterflex bracelet, dial and Cerachrom insert.

The Oyster Perpetual is the purest expression of the Oyster concept, having no other function than a reliable and accurate time display. This watch is the direct descendant of the original Oyster launched in 1926, the first waterproof wristwatch in the world and the foundation on which Rolex has built its reputation.

THE OYSTER CASE, SYMBOL O F WATERPROOFNESS AND ROBUSTNESS The Oyster Perpetual’s Oyster case, guaranteed waterproof to a depth of 100 metres (330 feet), is a paragon of robustness and reliability. The characteristically shaped middle case is crafted from a solid block of particularly corrosion-resistant 904L steel. The fluted case back is hermetically screwed down with a special tool that allows only Rolex watchmakers to access the movement.

The winding crown, fitted with the Twinlock double waterproofness system, screws down securely against the case. The crystal is made of virtually scratchproof sapphire.

The waterproof Oyster case provides optimal protection for the high-precision movement.

Rolex watches are exclusively represented by Edwards Lowell Co. Ltd. and are available in Zachary Street, Valletta and Spinola Bay St. Julians. For more information please call (+356) 2138 4503 or email info@elcol.com

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Racing Calendar 2015 RLR Weekend Regatta 22nd – 25th May RLR Weekend Regatta will take place at the RMYC. The Keelboat racing programme will see the J70, IRC Racer and IRC Cruiser classes tackling a number of windward/leeward as well as coastal races. A Dinghy racing programme is also being prepared which promises to see quite a lot of activity at the Club. A number of social events will be held on the Club’s terrace in the evenings and will include a wine tasting evening with live jazz music and a mouth-watering BBQ. J70 Med Cup 5th – 7th June The J70 Med Cup will take place for the first time in June and will consist of a series of races held off the Sliema shore as well as within Marsamxett harbour giving sailing enthusiasts an opportunity to view competitive sailing at close range.

The event is organised by the Royal Malta Yacht Club in collaboration with the J70 Association Malta.

Etchells International Selection Event 13th – 14th June The RMYC has been invited to send a team to take part in the International Invitational Etchells Regatta for the Gertrude Cup in Cowes, England. A round robin will be sailed between all registered teams on Saturday and a final knock out series will be sailed on the Sunday.

Citadel Ragusa Weekend 27 – 29th June The Citadel Ragusa Regatta organised by the Royal Malta Yacht Club and sponsored by Citadel Insurance plc consists of a passage race to Ragusa followed by a series of inshore races where participants compete for the Trofeo Achille Boroli Challenge and the Hyblea cup, organised by the Circoli Velici Iblei.

Syracuse – Malta Race 11th – 12th July Every year, this race, organised by the Royal Malta Yacht Club and the Lega Navale Italiana Sezione Siracusa, alternates start lines. This year the race will start off in Syracuse. The growing popularity of this race promises to be a well-attended event.

RMYC Summer Cruise 8th – 16th August Following the successful cruises that took place in the past two years, the Club is once again planning another cruise for the forthcoming summer.

Similar to previous years, the cruise will consist of just relaxing cruising and plenty of good fun ashore. A welcome break from the hectic racing calendar the Club has to offer.

Go Summer Regatta 5th – 8th September The Go Summer Regatta includes a series of windward/ leeward races for the racing classes and coastal races for the cruiser classes. A double handed class will sail on the cruiser courses. Berthing at the club pontoons will be free of charge for all participants. A dinghy regatta is also being organized. A number of social activities will be held on the Club’s terrace.

J70 Regatta 16 – 21st September The J70 Regatta is a welcome opportunity for teams to go up against each other, head to head in a one-design fleet where all that separates one team from the other are the sailors.

Races generally consist of a series of windward / leeward races. A lively social scene goes hand in hand with the racing.

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Around Islands Offshore Regatta 26 – 27th September A popular short offshore race of just under 95 nautical miles, this race is the ideal shakedown race for crews preparing for the Rolex Middle Sea Race.

Rolex Middle Sea – Coastal Race 14th October The Rolex Middle Sea Coastal Race gives competitors the opportunity to familiarize themselves with local waters. The race follows one of four courses around Malta, Gozo, Comino or Fifla.

Rolex Middle Sea Race 17th – 25th October The flagship event of the RMYC the Rolex Middle Sea Race is a highly rated offshore classic, often mentioned in the same breath as the Rolex Fastnet, The Rolex Sydney - Hobart and Newport-Bermuda as a “must do” race.

The Royal Malta Yacht Club and the Royal Ocean Racing Club co-founded the race in 1968 and 2015 will be the 36th Edition of this ever growing Race.

Dinghy National Championships 7th – 8th November Organised by the Malta Sailing Federation, the Dinghy National Championships movearound each year working with the three local clubs, namely the Malta Young Sailors, Birzebbugia Sailing Club and the RMYC . This year it is the turn of the RMYC to host races which are open to Optimist, Laser and RS Feva Classes.

BOV Gozo Weekend 13th – 15th November The Gozo Weekend has become a very popular event, where family and friends join those racing for a great time to chill and relax after the very hectic month of the Rolex Middle Sea Race in October. Races usually include a passage race up and down and round the cans and coastal races on Saturday.

2H Figure of 8 Race 28th – 29th November The Figure of 8 Double Handed Round Malta Race is the longer of the two shorthanded races in the RMYC calendar and now in its 22nd year. It follows a figure of eight course around the two islands passing through the Comino channels.

This shorthanded race has been popular since its inception and the trophy bears the names of most of Malta’s best sailors.

Round Malta Race 12th December RMYC. A fully crewed adventure round Malta in December where unpredictable weather conditions make it an even more interesting and challenging race which crews keep returning to year in year out.

Boxing Day Fun Race 26th December The Annual Fun Race in aid of L-Istrina will be held on Boxing Day. A nominal entry fee per person on each participating boat will be charged and the amount collected, together with a donation from the Club will be donated to L-Istrina. After the race, all those taking part are invited to the Clubhouse for a glass of mulled wine and mince pies.

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