While the main bulk of the fleet is passing Favignana this morning - about half of the 650 miles race distance - the 100-foot Super Maxi Leopard 3 was the first to reach the finish in La Valetta yesterday. So far, only 20 of the 130 teams have crossed the finish line. Given the flat conditions, there have also been numerous abandonments. The race tracker , the report and all rankings.

In a photo finish with just one minute ahead of 'Zoulou' with Erik Maris FRA, the MOD70 trimaran 'Mana' with Frenchwoman Alexia Barrier at the helm and sailing speed world record holder Paul Larsen GBR crossed the finish line yesterday as winners of the Middlesea Race. The first monohulls are in this morning's approach to the finish, with the Farr 100 'Leopard 3' of Christopher Sherlock NED leading just ahead of the Wally 100 'Bullitt' with William Palmer GBR. François Bopp SUI passed Favignana in 4th place in the IRC-2 ranking with his 'Chocolate 3'. All rankings, the race tracker and the report.

The Middlesea race started yesterday in La Valetta with light winds. Since then, the fleet has made good progress, and the multihulls at the front have already passed the Messina Strait and will round Stromboli this morning. ----- The race tracker and the report from the Start.

In the run-up to the Middlesea Race - starting on Sunday - a short coastal race was held yesterday in La Valetta, 50 of the 116 teams registered for the Middlesea Race were at the start. ----- The English HH42 'Ino XXX' with James Neville GBR took the victory on calculated time, followed by François Bopp SUI with his Farr 52 'Chocolate' in second place, thus also winning the IRC-2 ranking. ----- All rankings and the report .