sporttoday

Sailing towards success the Maltese way

SAILING IS QUICKLY GROWING IN POPULARITY. NOT ONLY IS IT A SPORT WHERE TACTICAL AWARENESS AND SKILL ARE IMPORTANT, IT COULD ALSO BE DEVELOPED GREATLY TO MALTA’S BENEFIT, SINCE THE ISLAND IS SURROUNDED BY SEA, AS ALFIE MANDUCA, SAILING ENTHUSIAST AND SKIPPER OF THE MALTESE FALCON, TELLS RAY ABDILLA

"At present, winning is not foremost in our minds, we are concentrating on consolidating ourselves and looking ahead to tapping new areas of sponsorship."

Alfie Manduca’s vision in the world of sailing is down to earth.

He admits that the 40.7 model of his boat, the Maltese Falcon, has been very successful in the past, but there is no doubt that funding also came into the equation.

"We chose a 40.7 because it is the most economical and easy to run," he says. "There are other boats, such as the IMS 40, but their cost is more than double. Since we found some difficulty in raising funds we had to go for the most economical."

Mr Manduca explains that his main objective in the first two years of international sailing is to promote Malta rather than win.

"Hopefully, during that time, recognition will come, along with more sponsors, and then we might start to think of winning," he says. "Unfortunately, at present, in Malta; only football seems to get a decent level of government support."

It is little wonder that Mr Manduca is a sailing enthusiast. As a boy he was brought up in a boating environment, beginning by taking to the sea on a dinghy and gradually progressing to windsurfing and later sailing boats. What started as a hobby eventually became something more as he moved into the sailing business.

He is now involved in the Beneteau success story, and was skipper at the Puntale IMS Mediterranean Championships, the St Tropez races, the Rolex Giraglia Cup and the Rolex IMS Offshore Championships held in Valencia.

In the last race held in Spain, there were 73 entries. The Maltese Falcon took part in the Class B which had 38 entries (Class A) had 28 boats). It finished 25th while the Maltese boat finished third in the Class 3 out of 15 boats.

The Maltese boat will now take part in the Palma de Majorca race, where the skipper will be Christian Ripard as Mr Manduca will skipper the Beneteau at the Malta Rolex race.

Mr Manduca explains that the crew on the Maltese Falcon stands at eight, all of whom are Maltese except one - Bogdan Anders - who has been living in Malta for the past six years, and is also a member of the Royal Malta Yacht Club.

Turning to the future, the skipper of the Maltese Falcon explains that he hopes to see the Maltese enthusiasts compete as much as possible.

"We have always had great support from the Italians and Spanish, who have encouraged the Maltese sailors to persevere and told us we certainly have the potential," he says.

He highlights some of his fondest memories, especially those times when he has competed against world class skippers. In particular, he mentions Paul Cian and Vincenzo Onorato on Mascalzone Latino, the second Italian syndicate to compete for the next America’s Cup and four-time Olympic medalist Torbel Grael, who was on the Italian Prada America’s Cup Challenge team and is now competing on the King of Spain’s boat, Bribon.

"Other world class competitors include America’s Cup helmsman Ken Read, competing on CAM, Castellon Costa Azahar and Caixa Galicia stacked with America’ s Cup and Olympic talent and top Whitbread and America’s Cup navigator, New Zealander Andrew Cape," he adds. "There are too many to mention them all!"

Mr Manduca disagrees with the perception that sailing is a sport for the elite.

"Like any other sport, there are boats or sailing devices which can be bought by the man in the street and there are others which only professionals will buy," he explains. "Yes, the latter are expensive but this is a principle that applies to most sports."

He also points out that sailing is accessible to all, since there are schools where one can learn to sail.

"Obviously, if one wants to compete at an international level, then the expenses are higher, but that’s inevitable," he says.

His own belief is that it is best to learn the art of sailing at a young age and participate in the ongoing activities as soon as possible to move on to greater achievements.

Mr Manduca stresses that sailing is a sport that brings great satisfaction, even though it has its challenges.

"Yes, we have handicaps here, sponsorships are a problem and we don’t have the opportunity to sail in big fleets, partly because we are a small country and secondly because the expenses are too high," he says. "But that doesn’t mean there isn’t potential."

"I undoubtedly gained my greatest satisfaction from participating in the local races. I will certainly never forget 1992 when I won with Primavera. Despite the fact that this 25 footer only cost Lm10,000 it was unbeatable."

Turning to Malta’s entry in the current championships, Mr Manduca believes such high profile events are a great way for the island to receive international media coverage.

"Furthermore, our participation will help to attract some of the best boats to our own Middle Sea Race," he says.

He also has a word of thanks for the sponsors - Malta International Airport, Malta Tourism Authority, MOBC and Air Malta for helping to make the project a reality.

And what are his objectives?

"I would like to see many more youngsters take up sailing and sail abroad," he answers. "On a personal note, I would like to sail the world. I’m hopeful, because I normally reach my objectives!"