White sails flutter in the wind, set against the backdrop of centuries of Mediterranean history; the Valletta skyline sees a stream of yachts slip past it, like old friends promising to return; and foamy spray whips up the sides of slim hulls, an action drenched in the photogenic and compelling nature of a story well told. It’s time for the Rolex Middlesea Race!  

This year, the race kicks off with a record number of entries – 149 participants, according to the organisers - competing to be crowned winner. But, this year marks a special edition – this iconic race celebrates its 50th anniversary. It’s been 50 years of drama on the high seas; 50 years of a rich heritage and tradition which started on this very rock.

The race began in 1968 – just four years after Malta’s independence – when two Englishmen, Alan Green and Jimmy White, members of the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), residing in Malta, approached the Royal Malta Yacht Club’s (RYMC) members Paul and John Ripard for a race which will test the best of the sport. The proposal was for an autumn race – to take advantage of the windier conditions and whipped up seas in these later months, rather than the calm seas of summer – and for a course that kicked off on the island, but ended in Syracuse, Sicily. But, following a persuasive argument by Paul Ripard, the organisers decided to start and end the race here in Malta, creating a clockwise 607 nautical mile course, circling the central Mediterranean, around Sicily and hitting Lampedusa, Pantelleria and the Egadian and Eolian islands.

In 1968, the first race set sail from the islands, and only consisted of eight boats: Barada, Dream of Holland, Josian, Pedlar, Sandettie, Stella Polare, Stormvogel and Yanda. The yachts sailed from the Maltese harbour framed by Valletta’s fortifications, heading to some of the most spectacular landscapes in the world, with Mount Etna and Stromboli peaking above the boats as they raced to the finish line. That first year, the small 36-foot Swan 36 Josian won, and many of the first eight made repeated appearances over the years. Sandettie, for example, competed every year until 1974. 

There have been many records set and broken in the 50 years since the start of this race, which sees competitors travel to the islands from all four corners of the globe. Participants from over 30 countries head to Malta, with Italian competitors being the most numerous: 27 Italian yachts have been registered for this edition, compared to 18 from the United Kingdom and 14 from Russia. 

And this year, to mark half a century from the first sail, the RMYC has invited two of the race’s co-founders along too. Alan Green and John Ripard will be joined by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston who competed in 1970, and who is also marking a very special 50th anniversary: that of his single-handed, non-stop circumnavigation of the globe, completed using a Rolex timepiece as a navigational aid. Will this year’s race prove to be the best one yet? Will the course record of 47 hours, 55 minutes and 3 seconds be broken? We’ll just have to wait to find out!

The race’s first warning signal sounds at 11am today, with participants starting out from Manoel Island.