The 1st edition of the Cannes-Malta Race - From the capital of cinema
by Yacht Club de Cannes 21 Jun 18:33 BST
8 October 2025
Launching the Cannes-Malta Race © Yacht Club de Cannes
The result of a successful twinning last year between two prestigious sailing clubs - the Yacht Club de Cannes (1860) chaired by Jean-François Cutugno, and the Royal Malta Yacht Club (1835) chaired by Mark Napier - have decided to join forces to launch the first edition of the Cannes-Malta Race, an offshore race in the Mediterranean, which will start in the city of Cannes on 8 October.
Like the Fastnet, the Sydney-Hobart, the Paprec 600 Saint-Tropez or the Middle Sea Race in particular, the course measures 600 miles, or 1100 kms.
The event is open to ORC (from 9 to 15 metres) and IRC (over 15 to 25 metres) yachts in 5 categories and in corrected time, as well as to Class40 and IMOCA (the monohulls of the Vendée Globe) which will race in real time. The course is as technical as it is enticing, and can be tough if a strong mistral is invited to the party, knowing that the fleet will have to cross the Strait of Bonifacio to the south of Corsica, leave Sardinia to port, then Sicily to starboard, with three gates - one to Bonifacio, one to Isola Marettimo, and finally one to Isola Egadi - before the final sprint to Valletta, capital of the island of Malta.
"This new event, beyond the race, aims to forge and strengthen our links between Malta, Cannes and the Côte d'Azur via these two great clubs, and to make sailors want to discover the charms of our island outside the high season. We have the desire and ambition to create a great event," confirms Claude Zammit-Trevisan, Director France of the Malta Tourist Board.
And for the crews competing in this 1st Cannes-Malta Race, it will also be an opportunity to continue with the Rolex Middle Sea Race, the 46th of its name, a 600-mile race also at the start, and the finish in Valletta with the tour of Sicily via the famous Strait of Messina, a long tack with a view of Mount Etna, which will start on 18 October.
Unanimously recognized, Jérôme Nutte of the Yacht Club de Cannes, head of the race committee, who has also been at the head of the famous Royal Regattas of Cannes for a long time and in particular on the sailing events at the Olympic Games, will be alongside Georges Korhel the race director. "We have provided three doors to 'monitor' the boats. We have a team that is working well, and it should be a very good race. The echoes I have are that the sailors are very excited and envious, even if we don't expect a record number of participants either, because a first always has its share of unknown... "
See you on October 8 in the harbor of Cannes for this new major event.
Event details at: