When the starting cannon fires across the limestone grandeur of Valletta's Grand Harbour on 18 October, a small but significant piece of history will be written. Among the assembled fleet will be Sailing Poland, a Volvo 65 skippered by Li An, representing the first Chinese entry the Rolex Middle Sea Race has ever seen.
For Li An, the moment carries a weight that goes far beyond the race itself. A dream deferred by five years, it is his chance to plant China's flag in one of offshore sailing's most celebrated classics. "The Rolex Middle Sea Race has always been on my bucket list," he explains. "I hoped to take part in 2020, but COVID got in the way. Many of my friends say it's the most beautiful race course in the world, but also one of the most challenging when the Mistral blows."
Those words speak to the race's enduring magnetism, which has drawn sailors from every corner of the globe since 1968. Li An's entry carries a cultural dimension too. "In Chinese we have an expression that translates as 'friend and ship' or 'friendship'. Offshore sailing is about trust and being our real selves on board. I consider those I sail with to be true friends."
Li An is no stranger to demanding offshore campaigns. His sailing résumé reads like a roll call of the world's great races: the Rolex Fastnet Race, the Sydney Hobart, the Bermuda Race. Most recently, he was part of the TP52 Happy Go crew that swept last year's Rolex China Sea Race, claiming both line honours and overall victory in a rare double. Now his focus turns to Sicily's volcanic waters.
Sailing Poland, a Volvo 65, promises raw speed, though Li An acknowledges he has never raced on the class before. To shore up the campaign, he enlisted charter broker Lucy Jackson to source two professional crew members. Completing the roster is a group drawn from the best of Chinese sailing: Jiu "Wolf" Yang, a veteran of the Dongfeng Ocean Race Team; Lijia "Lily" Xu, the Olympic gold medallist from London 2012; and a circle of long-time sailing companions who embody Li An's conviction that camaraderie and trust are as decisive offshore as boat speed or tactics.
The global spread of this year's fleet extends well beyond Li An's milestone entry. From Argentina, Humildad Zero arrives under the flag of Yacht Club Argentino, skippered by Daniel Figueirido. He approaches the race with an appreciation for his country's deep maritime tradition. "Argentina has a rich maritime heritage, with designers like German Frers and sailors like Santiago Lange," he notes. Figueirido's own background includes winning line honours in the 500 Miles of the Rio de la Plata, a mid-winter passage race he has completed double-handed three times in July's cold conditions. The Middle Sea Race will be his longest offshore challenge to date.
Germany's contribution this year has a distinctly collegiate character. Askew, a Comet 38 owned by the Akademische Segelgruppe Karlsruhe, has evolved from a student sailing club into a credible offshore contender. At the helm is Joshua Weller, who began his sailing career racing 29ers, 49ers, and A-Cats before discovering a passion for open-water passage racing. "Night watches at sea are special," he says. "You see the stars more clearly, every sunrise is unforgettable. Offshore sailing intensifies every moment."
The Royal Navy Sailing Association keeps faith with its long history in the race through HMSTC Dasher, a Nicholson 55 skippered by Vincent Pietersz. The RNSA, founded in 1935, has always treated sailing as a vehicle for developing leadership, resilience, and seamanship, and the mix of experienced mariners and novices aboard reflects that philosophy. For them, the 600-nautical mile lap of Sicily serves as both challenge and classroom.
The course itself is the common thread binding every crew in the fleet. Few offshore races marry coastal spectacle with genuine open-water severity in quite the same way. The fleet will thread past the smouldering cone of Stromboli, pick their way through the Aeolian Islands, and negotiate the fierce currents of the Strait of Messina. Flat, glassy calms can give way with little warning to the brutality of a full Mistral, and it is precisely that unpredictability that has cemented the race's legendary status.
The entry list this year spans everything from the sleek Shipman 72 Caiarossa of Spain to the 32-foot classic Celeste di Mare, a spread of size and pedigree that illustrates one of the race's most enduring qualities: the same course tests Olympic champions and weekend adventurers alike.
With entries still arriving ahead of the September deadline, the Royal Malta Yacht Club is readying itself for another memorable gathering beneath the Saluting Battery. Since steering the race into existence in 1968, the RMYC has watched it grow into a Mediterranean institution, and the sight of a fleet pouring out of Grand Harbour under full sail remains one of world sailing's most stirring images.
For Li An and his crew, the start will carry a particular charge. "Offshore sailing is about friendship," he says. With those words, the first Chinese entry in the Rolex Middle Sea Race captures what has drawn sailors to Sicily's waters for more than half a century: the pursuit of challenge, the lure of adventure, and the bonds that only the open sea can forge.
