Disciplines · Sailing Fact Sheet

The precise period when the sport of yachting, or sailing as it is currently referred to, started to be practiced competitively in Malta is not known, although there are reports that a yacht club in Malta existed as far back as 1835.

It is a well know fact amongst sailors however that no two sailing boats will ever meet on the water without engaging in attempts to out manoeuvre one another, and therefore it is likely that impromptu racing has taken place in Maltese waters ever since the first two rudimentary rafts were launched. We live in a country surrounded by marvelous sea and blessed by fair winds, and therefore it is not surprising that sailing has always been practiced in Maltese waters.

Organised racing probably commenced with the establishment of the Malta Yacht Club in 1921. Other sailing clubs became established as a result of the presence of the British military forces, and until approximately 30 years ago the Garrison Sailing Club in Marsamxett, the RAF Sailing Club at Marsaxlokk and the Royal Navy Sailing Club at Fort Saint Angelo were very active, making use of boats such as the Swordfish, the Albacore, the Bosun, and the Enterprise. It is to be noted however that whilst sailing at these clubs were mainly carried out be British servicemen, Maltese sailors were concurrently racing separately in the elegant lateen-rigged skiffs, fast boats which required a high degree of skill to manoeuvre, but which unfortunately are no longer seen on our waters. They were also racing successfully in the keelboat regattas organized by the various clubs.

With the departure of the British forces, new sailing clubs appeared on the scene, together with the Royal Malta Yacht Club, which grew out of the Malta Yacht Club. The Vikings Sailing Club, the Birzebbugia Sailing Club, the Malta Young sailors Club, the Malta Laser Class Association, and the Malta Model Boating Association appeared on the scene. These six clubs today form the Malta Sailing Federation, the National Authority for the Sport of Sailing in Malta, which was formed in 1975 in order to coordinate the activities of the various clubs and in order to ensure compliance with international racing rules set by the International Sailing Federation.

Classes of boats which are sailed at clubs forming the Federation vary from the one-metre long radio controlled model boat to ocean racers of 20m in length, and include classes such as the Optimist, the Laser, the Miracle, the Mirror 10 and the Mistral board.

The class of boat sailed by the Maltese representatives at the Tunis Mediterranean Games is the Laser Standard, a 4.23 metre long single-sail boat, constructed out of glass-reinforced plastic and sailed by one person. The Laser weights 57 kg and carries a 7.06 square metres sail. This Laser is an Olympic class boat, and in fact is the Olympic class to be sailed competitively in Malta.

The Malta Sailing Federation has over the years endeavoured to improve the standard of sailing in this class, and to encourage more sailors to sail this class of boat, which is one of the most popular classes worldwide. It requires particular skills to sail properly and a sailor ideally weighing approximately 80 kilograms, however it has the unique advantage that the same hull can be sailed using three different sizes of sail (Standard, Radial and 4.7), allowing younger or lighter sailors to enjoy top level racing.

The two sailors who will be sailing for Malta in Tunis have this year undergone a serious training programme under the direction of the National Coach, including training on the water 4 to 5 days each week, gymnasium training, and participation in Laser Europa Cup regattas in Italy and Holland and at the World Championships in Ireland. This level of dedication by the sailors to their sport has now been going on for a number of years, and is programmed to reach its peak by 2003 in time for the Games of the Small States of Europe, when the Sailing Federation will be participating in the Laser Standard, the Laser Redial, the Optimist and the Mistral classes.

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