The North Sails Twilight Series has drawn to a close following a thrilling six-race campaign, with Jonathan Gambin’s Ton Ton Laferla Insurance claiming the overall title with an impressive final score of just 5 points.

The innovative series utilized a pursuit race format, a reverse-handicap system where boats start at staggered intervals based on their speed ratings. With the slowest boats setting off first, the competitive objective was straightforward: the boat leading on the water when time expired won the race. Rather than utilizing a traditional physical finish line, each race ran for a strictly fixed duration. Per the series rules, a single worst race day was discarded upon completion of all six races, giving competitors the opportunity to recover from a poor result or a missed race.

Gambin’s Ton Ton Laferla Insurance delivered a commanding performance throughout the summer series. The crew took the win in five of the six races, securing the overall victory with a near-perfect scorecard. Race 6 served as their tactical discard, leaving them with an unassailable final tally of 5 points.

Pushing the champions hardest throughout the series was Luis Azzopardi aboard Kixx Me, who delivered a remarkably consistent performance across the entire campaign. Azzopardi finished second in every single race he entered and claimed an impressive first-place victory in the final race of the series. This strong finish left him just four points adrift of Gambin, securing a well-deserved second place overall with 9 points.

Third place went to Godwin Zammit sailing Inspiration, who rounded out the podium with a final tally of 23 points. Zammit raced consistently throughout the competitive multi-week series, sealing his podium spot with a strong second-place finish in the final race.

Reflecting on the success of the event, Adrian Gauci Borda, Royal Malta Yacht Club Rear Commodore (Sailing), highlighted the growing appeal of the event:

“This format has proven itself as the ideal mid-week race — accessible, competitive on the water, and social off it. Now in its second year, the series has firmly established itself in our calendar, and the atmosphere in the Club’s bar after each race is testament to that. We would like to thank Mediterranean Yacht Sales, agents for North Sails, for their valued support, and the Race Management team for running a smooth and competitive series.”

The action at the Royal Malta Yacht Club does not slow down for long. The local racing calendar continues in September with the highly anticipated Yachting Malta Race Week, which will feature a dynamic series of events running from 11th to 21st September.

Hosted in close collaboration with Yachting Malta Ltd and the Malta Sailing Federation, the upcoming programme includes a demanding offshore race to Licata, the Finductive National Dinghy Championships, and various coastal races. The week will also see the return of Steering the Course for its fourth consecutive year. Co-hosted alongside the Vikings Sailing Club, this global initiative is aimed at introducing women to the sport of sailing and carries prestigious recognition from both the International Olympic Committee and World Sailing.