With just under a month to go before the start, anticipation is building for the 21st edition of the Palermo-Monte-Carlo, the Mediterranean’s major end-of-summer offshore race, organised by the Circolo della Vela Sicilia in partnership with the Yacht Club de Monaco and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. Now in its third decade, the race remains a fixture of the sailing calendar, counting toward both the FIV’s Italian Offshore Championship and the final round of the IMA’s Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge.

Among this year’s standout storylines is a duel between two maxi yachts that once shared the same name, Morning Glory, both designed by Reichel-Pugh. The smaller of the two, a sleek 78-foot racing yacht now campaigned by Marco Malgara of ICE Yachts under the name Fiamme Gialle Nice, will take the start with a crew strengthened by sailors from the Guardia di Finanza’s Gruppo Sportivo, led by Captain Francesco Nerone, with Paolo Cian on the helm, Pierluigi Fornelli handling tactics, and several members of Italy’s Olympic sailing team also on board.

Its rival is an 86-foot super maxi built entirely from carbon fibre and fitted with a canting keel, a boat with a strong record that includes a record-setting win at the Barcolana. Now campaigned by Furio Benussi’s Fast and Furio Sailing Team under the name Marta 07, named after his daughter, who also helms the boat, the yacht will race under the colours of the Yacht Club de Monaco and the Circolo della Vela Sicilia, with Furio and Marta Benussi both aboard. The crew includes several young sailors from the team’s development programme, among them Monégasque sailor Guido Miani, alongside Circolo della Vela Sicilia racers Edoardo Bonanno and Antonio Saporito, fresh off their overall win in last year’s 20th edition aboard No Regret. Further high-profile entries are reportedly being discussed, with the Palermo-Monte-Carlo serving as the final round of the IMA’s Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge this season.

The race record remains held by Black Jack 100, which completed the 500-nautical-mile course between Palermo and Monaco in 38 hours, 53 minutes and 13 seconds in 2025.

The TP52 fleet features Turkish entry Arkas Blue Moon, owned by Bernard Arkas and helmed by Serhat Altay, fresh off overall victory at the Loro Piana Giraglia and considered one of the circuit’s strongest, best-prepared crews. It will face competition from American PAC52 Final Final, owned by Jon Desmond and helmed by Russell Whitworth, one of the standout boats of this season’s Tre Golfi Sailing Week, as well as Hungarian-led TP52 Chocolate 3, steered by Peter Czégal, a former Olympic 470 sailor at the 2004 Athens Games.

Other entries expected at the start include Austrian VO65 SISI, owned by Konstantin Kobale, returning to Palermo, and Swan 60 Seaquill, helmed by navigator Andrea Fornaro, competing for the first time. Also worth watching are Elle, a Swan 56 owned by Nicola Pirani; The Kid, a JP54 owned by Gilles Léraillé and carrying navigator Jean-Pierre Dick under the Circolo della Vela Sicilia’s colours; the two Neo Yachts entries Alemaro, a Neo 430 owned by German sailor Roman Puchtev, and Upscale, a Neo 400 owned by Stefan Hümmeke, fresh off a strong showing at the demanding Aegean 600 around the Greek islands; and Zephyr, an innovative 44-foot Finot-Conq design with a rounded “scow” bow, recently launched for Maltese owner Simon Toms.

Agostino Randazzo, President of the Circolo della Vela Sicilia, said the event was seeing strong participation a month out from the start, with returning owners, crews and supporting partners. He highlighted the fleet’s international character in particular, noting that of the thirty-two boats currently entered, nineteen come from abroad, including four German, four French, four British, two American and two Maltese entries, along with one each from Austria, San Marino and Turkey. He said this reflected how the Palermo-Monte-Carlo has become a true symbol of Mediterranean sailing.

Following its success in 2025, the race’s virtual counterpart also returns this year through a continued partnership with Virtual Regatta. Participants will be able to race the Palermo-Monte-Carlo under the same weather conditions as the real fleet, making the same tactical and strategic decisions from a computer or smartphone. Virtual Regatta also offers digital versions of The Ocean Race, the Vendée Globe and other major offshore races, with 8,454 participants having taken part virtually last year.

Prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers overall, the top three in the Interclub Challenge between the two organising clubs, and the best-placed competitor under the age of 18.

Image by © Studio Borlenghi