Rolex Middle Sea Race
Rolex Middle Sea Race takes place Oct 17 - 24, 2026 (start Oct 17; most finishers arrive over the following four days) in Valletta, Malta. The dress code is Casual for spectators, with a light jacket for the cannon-start morning on the bastions. Royal Malta Yacht Club functions and the prize-giving are smart-casual. Typical cost ranges from 200 to 1800 EUR per person.
A 606-nautical-mile loop from Grand Harbour, Valletta, anticlockwise around Sicily past Stromboli and back, organised by the Royal Malta Yacht Club since 1968. The start is fired from the Saluting Battery beneath Valletta's bastions with the fleet manoeuvring inside one of the most theatrical harbours in the world. Offshore it is genuinely hard: October in the central Mediterranean serves up everything from windless nights to gales.
- When
- Oct 17 - 24, 2026 (start Oct 17; most finishers arrive over the following four days)
- Where
- Valletta, Malta
- Dress code
- Casual for spectators, with a light jacket for the cannon-start morning on the bastions. Royal Malta Yacht Club functions and the prize-giving are smart-casual.
- Cost
- Typical cost ranges from 200 to 1800 EUR per person.
- Weather
- 19 - 25C by day with the sea still warm; offshore the course can deliver flat calm or gales, and nights turn cool
- When to book
- Book Valletta rooms 4 - 6 months out; entry through the Royal Malta Yacht Club opens in spring and crew berths are advertised over the summer
- Getting there
- MLA (Malta), 25 min to Valletta and 15 min to the RMYC at Ta' Xbiex
- Where to stay
- The Phoenicia Malta (grand, just outside City Gate), Iniala Harbour House (boutique, on the Valletta waterfront), Casa Ellul (small townhouse hotel in the heart of Valletta)
- Official site
- https://rolexmiddlesearace.com
How to attend
The Grand Harbour start is a free, world-class spectacle from the Upper and Lower Barrakka Gardens, the Valletta bastions and Fort St Angelo across the water in Birgu. To compete you need a rated, offshore-equipped boat and a crew meeting the safety category, entered through the Royal Malta Yacht Club. Charter operators and crew-finder listings put berths and crew places on the market from around June, typically several hundred euros plus a share of costs. The club's race village and some prize-giving events are open to the public.
The Grand Harbour start is free to watch from the Barrakka Gardens and the Valletta bastions; the Royal Malta Yacht Club sells no spectator ticket.
Insider tip
The class starts are fired from the Saluting Battery at Upper Barrakka Gardens - get a bastion spot an hour early, or cross to Fort St Angelo in Birgu for the head-on view as the fleet accelerates out of Grand Harbour.
Get inside Rolex Middle Sea Race
Booking matters here: book Valletta rooms 4 - 6 months out; entry through the Royal Malta Yacht Club opens in spring and crew berths are advertised over the summer. Members track that window, what it really costs, and 573 more events across the season.
Free while in beta. One email when your invitation is ready, nothing else.