The 47th Rolex Middle Sea Race sets sail on Saturday 17 October, with 108 boats departing Malta's Grand Harbour beneath Valletta's limestone bastions for a 606-nautical-mile lap of Sicily. The course again takes competitors past Stromboli and through the Aeolian Islands before finishing at Marsamxett Harbour.
For those not making the trip to Malta, there are several ways to follow the action live.
The start sequence runs from 11:00 CEST, with the fleet split into seven groups by rating. IRC 6, the slowest division with 22 boats, gets away first at 11:00, followed by IRC 5 (23 boats) at 11:10, IRC 4 (16 boats) at 11:20, IRC 3 (17 boats) at 11:30, the MOCRA and Class 40 fleet (8 boats) at 11:40, IRC 2 (12 boats) at 11:50, and IRC 1, the fastest division with 10 boats, at midday.
Live online coverage begins at 10:30 CEST, streamed on the Rolex Middle Sea Race's YouTube and Facebook channels with English commentary supported by Yachting Malta. Maltese viewers can tune into TVMSport+.
Once racing is under way, the YB tracker lets viewers follow every yacht around the course, compare positions in real time, and watch tactical decisions unfold as crews navigate past the Egadi Islands, Pantelleria and Lampedusa. A free YB Races app is also available for phones and tablets.
From Sunday 18 October, a daily live show starts at 09:30 CEST with fleet updates, weather analysis and crew interviews.
Run by the Royal Malta Yacht Club since 1968, the Rolex Middle Sea Race is one of the toughest and most scenic offshore courses in the world. The outright race record stands at 33 hours 29 minutes 28 seconds, set in 2021 by Jason Carroll's American MOD 70, Argo.
This year's fleet spans 26 countries and territories, led by Italy with 15 entries, Malta and the United Kingdom with 11 each, and Germany with 10. The largest boat on the water is the 30.48-metre Black Jack 100, while the smallest monohull, Calypso, measures just 9.44 metres. Mowgli, built in 1960, is the oldest yacht in the fleet, a reminder that in the Middle Sea Race, vintage and velocity can share the same start line.
