With a 10 knot breeze from the southeast quarter, the first race was underway by 11:05 after a clear start.

Alexander Roepers' Plenty was first around windward mark followed by Rod Jabin's Ramrod , Hasso Plattner's Morning Glory , Peter de Ridder's Mean Machine, Giovanni Maspero's Joe Fly and Ernesto Bertarelli's Alinghi.

As fleet got down to the bottom gate, the committee boat signaled a course change from 125 to 130 degrees, for the next work up to the windward mark.

Jabin's Ramrod was first down to the gate after a spinnaker run and choose the right hand side of the course for their second work up to the top mark. Close behind and taking the left hand side were Roepers' Plenty , Plattner's Morning Glory and de Ridder's Mean Machine.

When Maspero's Joe Fly arrived at the bottom gate, they had been passed by Wolfgang Stolz on Opus One, William Douglass on Goombay Smash and Bertarelli's Alinghi.

Roepers on Plenty and Plattner on Morning Glory had a better run up to the top mark to take the lead from Rod Jabin on Ramrod , who rounded the windward mark in third place. At this point, de Ridder's Mean Machine was hanging onto forth with Stolz's Opus One in fifth.

None of the first 8 places had changed from the top mark to the finish with not much more than a boat length between the first three as they crossed the line.

Giovanni Maspero's Joe Fly. © ROLEX/Kurt Arrigo.

For more information about the 2008 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, including the full list of entries and crew, results, and photos go to the official event website www.farr40worlds.com.