Balthasar wins Yachting Malta Coastal Race

Filip Balcaen’s Mills 72 Balthasar, with Bouwe Bekking serving as tactician, secured both line honours and the overall win under IRC in the Yachting Malta Coastal Race. The 30-nautical-mile course began at Marsamxett Harbour, rounded Comino, and returned to Marsamxett under wind speeds peaking at 25 knots.

Following Balthasar, James Neville’s Botin 65 Artemis Bleu finished second overall, while Bernard Arkas’s TP52 Arkas Blue Moon took third. In the IRC Class 4 category, Maya Podesta steered the family-owned Elusive 2 to victory, earning the distinction of the top Maltese boat. Other class winners included Michal Krysta’s Moonpalace in IRC Class 3, Sebastian Ripard and Daniel Calascione in IRC Class 5, and Andrew Agius Delicata and Matthew Gabriele in the Reflex 38 category.

The coastal race served as a competitive shakedown for the upcoming 47th Rolex Middle Sea Race, which is scheduled to begin on Saturday, 17 October. That event will cover a 606-nautical-mile course from Grand Harbour through the Strait of Messina and around various archipelagos before returning to Malta.