Twenty years after its inaugural event in 2005, the Palermo–Montecarlo race is celebrating a special anniversary edition, confirming its status as a major fixture in the Mediterranean sailing calendar.
Morning sharp outside Monaco’s Ministry of State, three friends who work in the Principality, Raphaël Boissy, Harley Glegg, and Bastien Duvalet, clipped in, waved to a knot of family and colleagues, and pointed their front wheels east. Destination: Istanbul. Distance: roughly 2,900–3,000 km. Time budget: 14 days.