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Sailing in Valletta
Rolex Middle Sea Race
Malta's fortified capital, a UNESCO World Heritage city built by the Knights of St John after the Great Siege of 1565 on a peninsula between two harbours. Barely a square kilometre, its grid of Baroque streets holds palaces, churches and the national art and archaeology collections.
Run by Royal Malta Yacht Club, with published dates and a real program.
Dates & details verified against: Official event site ↗
Why here
The Rolex Middle Sea Race is the Mediterranean's classic offshore race and one of the great spectacles in the sport, and it begins right under Valletta's ramparts. Every October a fleet of a hundred or more yachts starts inside Malta's Grand Harbour, funnelling out past the bastions in front of crowds lining the walls, then sets off on a 606-nautical-mile anti-clockwise loop around Sicily. The course rounds the smoking volcano of Stromboli in the Aeolian Islands, passes the Egadi Islands, Pantelleria and Lampedusa, and returns past Comino to finish back in Malta. First run in 1968, it draws professional crews and amateur offshore sailors alike, and the harbour start is free to watch from Valletta and the Three Cities. For sailors it is a bucket-list race, and for everyone else it is Malta's most dramatic sporting morning.
Best months
The race starts from Grand Harbour in mid-to-late October and takes the leading boats two to three days and the rest of the fleet up to a week to complete the 606-mile course. The best free viewing is from the Valletta bastions and the Three Cities around the late-morning start. October weather is mild but the offshore course is demanding, with everything from flat calms to gales, so this is a serious race for experienced crews rather than a participation event for visitors.
Getting there & around
The start is best watched from the Upper Barrakka Gardens and the Valletta and Three Cities waterfronts, all reachable on foot or by the harbour ferry, and no ticket is needed to watch. Entry to the race is through the Royal Malta Yacht Club at Ta' Xbiex and is for fully crewed offshore yachts. Accommodation in and around Valletta books up for race weekend, so plan ahead if you want a harbour-side view.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (1)
Royal Malta Yacht Club
OrganizerThe Royal Malta Yacht Club, based at Ta' Xbiex, has organised the Rolex Middle Sea Race since its first edition in 1968, when it grew out of a rivalry between two British and two Maltese yachtsmen, Alan Green and Jimmy White and the brothers Paul and John Ripard, with the Royal Ocean Racing Club. The club runs the 606-nautical-mile offshore classic anti-clockwise around Sicily each October, starting and finishing in Malta's Grand Harbour, alongside a full domestic sailing calendar.