Teams that have participated in the 2012 Rolex Middle Sea Race gathered in Malta’s capital city Valletta at midday on Saturday, 27th October, for the official prize giving ceremony. By keeping close to the island’s rich and amazing history, the prize giving took place at the scenic Mediterranean Conference Centre & Hall. Almost 1,000 competitors, distinguished guests, race officials as well as media representatives arrived to reward those, who demonstrated extraordinary performances at the Rolex Middle Sea Race. In addition to the Line Honours Trophy for the first monohull boat completing the competition, awarded to the Esimit Sailing Team, one of the event’s highlights was the presentation of the Medot Sailing Trophy.

Medot Sailing Trophy

The trophy, initiated by Esimit Europa and named after the high-class sparkling wine Medot, was created for monohulls, which will break the world record time on the Trieste – Valletta route in the period between the Barcolana regatta and the Rolex Middle Sea Race. Luxury yacht Esimit Europa 2 established the benchmark time, which is recognized by the World Sailing Speed Record Council as the new world record time for the approximately 740 nautical miles Trieste – Valletta passage route. The clock stopped at 68 hours, 42 minutes and 24 seconds.

The Medot Sailing Trophy enjoys the patronage of the Deputy Prime Minister of Malta. It is not only recognized as the award for the next supreme result in sailing the Trieste – Valletta route, it also carries a message of collaboration between the cities of Trieste and Valletta, the two yacht clubs (Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano and Royal Malta Yacht Club) and the two famous races – the Barcolana regatta and the Rolex Middle Sea Race. Furthermore, due to short time gap between both races, Esimit Europa’s initiative opened an opportunity for the Barcolana and the Rolex Middle Sea Race organizers in attracting even more yachts to participate at both sailing events.

Prizegiving of the 2012 Rolex Middle Sea Race

At the prize giving ceremony in Valletta, the Medot Sailing Trophy was handed to Godwin Zammit, commodore of the Royal Malta Yacht Club. The trophy will await at the Royal Malta Yacht Club for the next record breaking yacht.