Remon Vos’s Black Jack 100 claimed monohull line honours in the 47th Rolex Middle Sea Race after crossing the finish line on Monday afternoon, completing the demanding 606-nautical-mile course in 51 hours and 51 minutes.

Skippered by Tristan Le Brun, the 30.48-metre maxi finished at 15:51 CEST on Monday, 19 October, recording its fastest passage around the course in eight appearances dating back to 2006.

The victory marked Black Jack 100’s third participation in the race under its current ownership, with the crew improving the yacht’s previous best time by approximately three hours.

Although Black Jack 100 entered the race as the overwhelming favourite for line honours, its achievement underlined the preparation, teamwork and consistency required to maintain high performance throughout more than two days of offshore racing.

Conditions along Sicily’s northern coast proved less challenging than anticipated, but the penultimate leg from Lampedusa towards the South Comino Channel presented a demanding test, with the crew forced to sail upwind through confused seas.

Owner Remon Vos expressed his delight at another successful campaign.

“Winning line honours in the Rolex Middle Sea Race is fantastic. It’s a unique experience with this boat and the team on board,” Vos said.

“Sometimes I ask myself why I do this, and tell myself I’m never going to do it again, but I keep coming back. You’re completely disconnected, surrounded by the wind and water, the moon and stars, and sharing it all with an extraordinary group of people. That’s what makes it so special.”

The yacht has a distinguished history in the race, having made its debut in 2006 as Alfa Romeo under Neville Crichton’s ownership.

It subsequently competed as Esimit Europa 2 under Igor Simcic in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014 before returning under its present identity.

Originally launched in 2005, the Reichel/Pugh-designed maxi has undergone significant modifications and upgrades to remain competitive at the highest level of offshore racing.

Battle for remaining honours continues

While Black Jack 100 has secured the first major accolade of this year’s race, competition remains intense throughout the fleet.

At 18:00 CEST on Monday, Django 7X and Balthasar were engaged in a closely fought battle for the next finishing positions, sailing off Comino with approximately 25 nautical miles remaining.

The two yachts were beating into an east-southeasterly wind of around 20 knots as their duel approached its conclusion.

Further back, Daguet 5 was producing an impressive performance in IRC 2, challenging strongly on corrected time and running ahead of most of its class on the water.

Only the larger Artemis Bleu was ahead, while Aragon had just rounded Lampedusa.

Artie III maintains strong Maltese challenge

Maltese yacht Artie III, led by Lee Satariano and Christian Ripard, continued to set the pace in IRC 3, both on the water and under the corrected-time standings.

The HH42 endured a difficult passage along Sicily’s northern coast, having rounded Stromboli shortly before midday on Sunday before reaching the Favignana transit at 14:45 on Monday.

Despite the challenging conditions, Artie III maintained a commanding advantage over its nearest class rivals.

Zephyr and Mia Gioia were approximately 25 nautical miles behind on the water, while Artie III held an estimated handicap advantage of three and a half hours at the northwest transit.

Another Maltese entry, Jonathan Gambin’s Ton Ton Laferla, was producing one of the standout performances of the race in IRC 4.

Competing in his 19th Rolex Middle Sea Race, Gambin had established a strong position over the opening 340 nautical miles.

However, the second half of the course promised a considerably tougher examination, with stronger winds and confused seas expected south of Sicily.

Ton Ton Laferla faced pressure from Elusive 2, which was just two nautical miles behind on the water, alongside Jackknife.

With the conditions becoming increasingly demanding, the experience of Gambin and his crew could prove decisive in protecting their advantage.

Close contests across the fleet

In IRC 5, Scricca occupied the leading position on corrected time, although the division remained tightly contested.

Selma Racing – Noisy Oyster was leading on the water near San Vito lo Capo on Sicily’s northern coast.

Maltese yacht Calypso remained among the contenders, alongside Courrier Pogo, Geisha-Medirect, Solenn for Pure Ocean, Ponce and Karpo.

IRC 6 was headed by Colombre, which led both on the water and in the provisional handicap standings.

Diavolina, Red Ruby, Sakifo and Munjek RS were among its closest challengers, with the division spread across approximately 80 nautical miles.

Colombre also headed the estimated double-handed standings.

In the Class40 category, Stella Nova maintained a narrow advantage over Optimus Prime as the two yachts negotiated the Egadi Islands.

Meanwhile, the multihull competition remained open, with three of the four participating yachts near San Vito lo Capo.

Calamity led on the water, while Turbolenta, approximately 45 nautical miles behind, occupied first place in the provisional MOCRA handicap rankings.

Although Black Jack 100 has completed its race in impressive fashion, the battle for overall victory and the remaining class honours is far from settled.

With much of the fleet still facing demanding conditions across the southern sections of the course, the coming days could bring further changes to the standings before the remaining yachts return to Malta.