The Mills 72 claims line honours and overall IRC victory in a 30-nautical-mile race ahead of the Rolex Middle Sea Race.
VALLETTA, Malta — 14 October 2026 — Filip Balcaen’s Mills 72 Balthasar, with Bouwe Bekking as tactician, won the Yachting Malta Coastal Race on Wednesday, claiming both line honours and overall victory under IRC.
The 30-nautical-mile course started at Marsamxett Harbour, rounded Comino and returned to Marsamxett. Winds reached 25 knots, providing fast racing ahead of the 47th Rolex Middle Sea Race, scheduled to start on Saturday, 17 October.
Balthasar sailed upwind at more than 10 knots and reached speeds of 20 knots downwind.
“We had a great shakedown today. Everything and everybody is in full working order, which gives us a really good feeling ahead of the start on Saturday,” said Bekking. He credited the crew’s teamwork and tactical decisions for the result.
In the class results, Elusive 2 won IRC Class 4 and was the highest-finishing Maltese boat. Calypso took the IRC Class 5 title, while Vivace won IRC Class 6.
Attention now turns to the Rolex Middle Sea Race, a 606-nautical-mile offshore course around Sicily. The fleet is scheduled to start from Malta’s Grand Harbour at 11:00 CEST on Saturday.
