Crosbie Lorimer gives an update on the Race and his thoughts on the event as it is the first time BCM has covered the race.

Crosbie Lorimer gives an update on the Race and the current IRC standings at 1600 on Wednesday October 21.

Ineke van der Weijden is a professional sailor who is more used to skippering race yachts than being a crew member with no formal position, as has been the case for her aboard the VO 65 SISI Shortly after finishing the race Ineke spoke to us about how their race went, how good it was to have former Clipper Race colleagues as crew and how much she enjoyed not being skipper for a change. Ineke’s story is an inspiring one; she grew up sailing dinghies as a child but only returned to sailing after many years in the corporate world, signing up for the 2017 Clipper Round the World Race. After taking part in the 2019 race she ultimately returned as a Clipper Race skipper aboard Perseverance for the 2023 race, finishing second overall. @RolexMiddleSeaRace_

Pablo Arrate is another experienced Volvo Ocean Racer who is frequently to be found on some of the top maxis in the major ocean classics like the Rolex Middle Sea Race. He talks about the conditions in the race and in particular the high winds and steep seas of the last 24 hours. Pablo will be back in Australia for the 2026 Rolex Hobart Race sailing on Loyal (formerly Comanche) with Anthony Bell. He has probably covered more nautical miles on this extraordinary race and record winner since she was launched in 2014 than anyone else. @RolexMiddleSeaRace_

Having competed in eight Volvo Ocean Races since his first in 1985, Bouwe has justifiably been described as the ‘Volvo Ocean Race Legend’. Here he explains about the close tussle that Balthasar had with Django 7X for much of the Rolex Middle Sea Race and how in the end Django 7X came out on top. @RolexMiddleSeaRace_

Harry Smith is a regular feature in many of BCM's yacht racing pictures of Maxis as he is an in-demand and highly experienced bowman, who is commonly to be seen in the 'firehouse zone' of boats like Comanche and Wild Oats X. We talked to him about his race aboard Balthasar and also asked him what advice he would have for any young sailor aspiring to work on the bow of a maxi yacht.

Crosbie Lorimer gives an update on the Race and the current IRC standings. Update Day 4 @RolexMiddleSeaRace_

While most of the crew aboard Remon Vos’ Black Jack 100 are now Europeans, two Australasian members in the team play vital roles aboard the Rolex Middle Sea Race Line Honours winner. Kiwi Matiu Te Hau who lives in Sydney is the Boat Captain/Bowman, while Harley Spreadbury-Key works the pit. We talked to both of them about their roles and their takes on how the race played out. @RolexMiddleSeaRace_

Navigator aboard the Line Honours winning Black Jack 100, Max Dekkers takes us through some of the highlights and challenges of the 2026 Rolex Middle Sea Race. And he also confirms that he will definitely be sailing in the 2026 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race aboard Anthony and David Johnston’s R/P 72 URM.

Shannon Falcone has been a major player in various America’s Cup teams and longtime J Class crew member and more recently he has been part of Giovanni Lombardi Stronati’s maxi campaigns aboard the Django yachts. We spoke to Shannon shortly after Django 7x completed the Rolex Middle Sea Race, finishing second on line to Black Jack 100 and looking well placed for an overall win under IRC. We also spoke to Shannon about the Ferrari Hypersail program, in which he’s involved.

Tristan le Brun, Skipper of the Rolex Middle Sea Line Honours winner Black Jack 100, talks about the race and how well the boat also performed under IRC with the new sail set ups.

Black Jack 100 has powered across the finish to take line honours in the 2026 edition of the race in 2 day, 3 hours & fifty one minutes. Congratulations to the Black Jack team as this was the boat’s fastest line honours time in any of her ownerships since 2006. @RolexMiddleSeaRace_

Patrick and Vincent Harris are sailing the Illingworth and Primrose designed Mowgli two-handed in the Rolex Middle Sea race, as they did last year. We spoke to Patrick about the race and about Mowgli, which is a regular on the Mediterranean classics circuit. @RolexMiddleSeaRace_

Stu Bannatyne’s enormous ocean racing experience - which includes wining four of the eight Volvo Ocean Races in which he competed - is a major asset to any offshore team. For the Middle Sea race he will be a watch leader aboard Johnny Vincent’s Volvo Open 70 Pace. He talks about the race and we also asked him about a recent interview he held with Andy Rice on why it can often be better to reef the mainsail early but keep more power in the headsails. @RolexMiddleSeaRace_

Max Deckers is the navigator aboard Remon Vos’ famous Black Jack 100. We asked him about what he thought would be the major challenges in this year’s race from a navigator’s perspective and also how he has to adjust his workings to the recent IRC modifications they have made to the sail inventory. Many Australians will remember that Max was the navigator aboard Anthony and David Johnston’s R/P 72 URM in last year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. URM had to retire early in that race, but pleasingly Max hopes to be back on URM for the 2026 race to Hobart. @RolexMiddleSeaRace_

Kiwi sailing legend Dean Barker will be the tactician aboard James Neville’s Botin 65 Artemis Bleu, which recently won Maxi 3 Class at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo on its first outing since major modifications. Dean talks about the role of a tactician in this race and where he expects the major challenges to arise. @RolexMiddleSeaRace_

Jules Salter is a renowned ocean racing navigator whose CV includes four Volvo Open Races, the Admiral’s Cup and the America’s Cup, amongst many other ocean races. For the Middle Sea Race he is navigating aboard Johnny Vincent’s Volvo 70 Pace, on which he was also navigator when they recently won the Round Britain and Ireland Race. Jules gives a rundown on some of the navigation challenges for this year’s race. @RolexMiddleSeaRace_

Tristan le Brun has been the skipper of Black Jack 100 ever since Remon Vos acquired this famous and successful 100 footer. In its various guises under different owners since its Rolex Middle Sea Race debut in 2003, Black Jack 100 has won Line Honours an astonishing eight times, most recently in 2025. Tristan talks about the recent changes to the sail inventory to permit them to compete under IRC with the goal of improving their chances of winning overall as well as Line Honours, where opportunities permit. @RolexMiddleSeaRace_ @blackjackyachting7093

The final division to leave the harbour were the maxis who luckily had more wind than the previous divisions. Black Jack unsurprisingly led the fleet but didn’t have it all her own way in a three way battle with Balthasar and Django 70.

The 606nm Rolex Middle Sea Race starts and finishes in one of the most spectacular harbours in the world with its city’s shorelines dominated by massive 16th Century, 60 metre high limestone fortifications and bastions. There’s even a real cannon used for the starting gun, fired from the Saluting Battery on the fortifications high above the start line in Grand Harbour. In this introduction Crosbie gives an overview of the race, the fleet and the expected conditions. Note that the weather briefing which came after we shot this intro suggests the building southeasterlies from Sunday onwards combined with a 2 metre seaway could be earlier and stronger, making things very tough going for the middle to lower fleet as they head south for Lampedusa Island. @RolexMiddleSeaRace_