At 12:13:25 today, the Esimit Sailing Team set sails from Trieste towards Valleta in a light breeze of about 5 knots of speed from the northwest. They will try to establish the record for the passage between the two cities for the Medot Sailing Trophy.

This challenge is joining two cities, Trieste and Valletta, two yacht clubs, the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano and Royal Malta Yacht Club, and the two renowned regattas, Barcolana and the offshore Rolex Middle Sea Race - which is the last event on the schedule for Esimit Europa 2 this season, starting on October 18.

In 2012, the Esimit Europa 2 established the benchmark for the approximately 700 nautical miles long passage between Trieste (Italy) and Valletta (Malta) – open to all classes and recognized by the World Sailing Speed Record Council. The time to beat is 68 hours, 42 minutes and 24 seconds.

“The team is well prepared for the record attempt for the Medot Sailing Trophy, but the chances for a record are very slim. We have already delayed the start because there is no wind at all. We hope that the sea breeze will come back to get us to the middle of the Adriatic Sea and from there we will probably have more breeze from the south. It will be a lot of upwind sailing and it will be a long trip. But maybe the weather is changing.” said Jochen Schümann, the skipper of the Esimit Europa 2, before the start.