Over half of the Fastnet starters pull out

Sailing/Fastnet Race:After the first 24 hours of sailing in the Rolex Fastnet Race, more than half the starters had pulled out of the competition as near gale conditions and rough seas battered the fleet along the south coast of England.

Line honours favourite Alfa Romeo, skippered by owner Neville Crichton, was among the retirees after just 12 hours at sea, leaving the race open to principal rival Mike Slade on his new 100-footer ICAP Leopard.

However, as the super-maxi surfed into the Fastnet Rock lighthouse off the west Cork coast yesterday evening, it was the American 90-footer Rambler that was proving an able adversary under skipper Ken Read as both boats were neck and neck in the force seven winds and poor visibility.

Conditions for the return leg from the rock to the finishing line at Plymouth were expected to be favourable, at least in terms of boatspeed though rough seas and continued strong winds remain a concern, principally for the smaller boats.

A course record remains a realistic prospect and even a sub 48-hour time could, in theory at least, be achieved by one of the giant racing machines or possibly one of the Open 60-footers on a lucky break.

As ever, the contest for line honours forms a distraction from the true event which is the race on handicap corrected time and though a large percentage of the entry has withdrawn, those toughing out the conditions remain in contention and at very least the universal prize in offshore racing of completing a tough race is open.

But as the bulk of the fleet were last night only starting to round The Lizard for the exposed stage to the Fastnet and back, on-line race tracking clearly showed that more than a few of the smaller boats were poking their bows into the Irish Sea and saying "Thanks but no thanks" and opting to join the growing crowd prematurely exchanging war stories ashore in Plymouth.

Among these were Eamon Crosbie and his crew on board Teng Tools, the Irish IRC champions whose 32-footer withdrew from the race yesterday morning. Problems with their new Yanmar diesel engine plus a failed satellite phone gave way to the prudent option, especially as the latest weather charts became unavailable and they would have rounded The Lizard effectively blind to detailed weather patterns.

Back at sea, today will determine the likely number of finishers as those that make it to the Fastnet intact and manage to ignore the beckoning welcome of the west Cork hostelries are certain to continue.

Irish hopes are pinned on Ger O'Rourke's Cookson 50-footer, revelling in the conditions and in close contact at the rear of the leading bunch of the dozen or 100-footers and Open 60s.

And Eric Lisson's Cavatina, the two-times Round Ireland Race winner, was also continuing last night as the Granada 38-footer steadily sailed north of the Bishop Rock light.

With her Class Three-rival Iromguy also retired, had conditions been lighter then perhaps the overall victory might well have been up for grabs.

Conditions are certain to hand this event over to the speed machines who enjoyed blistering pace in the closing stages of the 608-mile course.