Course record under treath as small yachts seek shelter

The 28th Rolex Middle Sea Race looked to be mirroring almost exactly its British cousin, the Rolex Fastnet, as retirement after retirement is phoned into the Royal Malta Yacht Club Race Control, whilst the front-runner makes record-breaking progress towards the finish. After a relatively benign start yesterday, the trouble began as yachts began to reach to the Sicilian coast. At 1600 today some twenty-two yachts had retired including four of the big ones – Titan 12 (USA), Valkyrie (CAN), Whisper (IRL) and Ourdream (GBR) – leaving thirty-five still racing.