Under brilliant blue skies and active seas on Wednesday, a 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 a 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, around the small island of Filfla, unwinds back to the east, then northeast on a long leg towards a special purpose buoy set off the Marina di Ragusa at the 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.

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