The Middle Sea Race, or

Rolex Rolex () is a Swiss watch brand and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by German businessman Hans Wilsdorf and his eventual brother-in-law Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex ...

Middle Sea Race for

sponsorship Sponsoring something (or someone) is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is k ...

reasons, is a yacht race organised by the Royal Malta Yacht Club. The race was co-founded in 1968 by the Royal Malta Yacht Club and the

Royal Ocean Racing Club The Royal Ocean Racing Club is a club in London with a further clubhouse and office in Cowes, Isle of Wight. It was established in 1925 as the Ocean Racing Club, as a result of a race to the Fastnet Rock from Cowes, finishing in Plymouth. It re ...

. The Rolex Middle Sea Race was created as the result of sporting rivalry between two British yachtsmen residing in Malta, Alan Green and Jimmy White, and two Maltese sailors, Paul and John Ripard. both members of the Royal Malta Yacht Club. Alan (who would go on to become Secretary of the Royal Ocean Racing Club) and Jimmy proposed a longer course than was typical in the region, and one designed to offer an exciting competition in windier autumn conditions. The original suggestion was for a course that would start in Malta and finish in Syracuse, Sicily, in one year and then start in Syracuse and finish in Malta, the next. In an inspired moment, Paul insisted that the race should be centred on Malta, both starting and finishing there. The course was now, essentially, a clockwise circumnavigation of Sicily including Lampedusa, Pantelleria and the Egadi and Aeolian islands. It would be slightly longer than the RORC’s own famous offshore event, the Fastnet Race, sponsored by Rolex since 2001. The race starts and finishes in Malta, and takes the fleet in anti-

clockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions or senses of rotation. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands relative to the observer: from the top to the right, then down and then to ...

around

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

References

Sailing competitions in Malta Recurring sporting events established in 1968 Offshore sailing competitions {{race-sports-stub