2023 | ORC European Championships - Day 1

Under brilliant blue skies and active seas today, the fleet of 38 boats from 10 countries started the 2023 ORC European Championship here in Malta with a brisk “majjistral” wind, the local term for breeze from the northwest that funnels between Sicily and Tunisia. This brisk breeze of 14-20 knots helped propel the teams in all three classes in a fast initial phase of their courses set for completion in 24-36 hours. The 10 entries in Class A have a 186-mile course that from the start off Valletta first winds around the southern coast of Malta, rounds the small island of Filfla, then unwinds back to the east then northeast on a long leg towards a special purpose buoy set off the Marina di Ragusa at southern tip of Sicily. From there the Class A fleet heads southwest to a mark at the northwest end of the island of Gozo, where they then head southeast to round Malta to port, take a 13-mile leg past Valletta to Comino, then back to a picturesque finish line set in Valletta harbor between the Bastion and Tigne Point.