AT the midpoint in this year's regatta the weather gods provided perfect conditions: bright sunshine, blue sky and a steady breeze - what competitors call "champagne sailing".

The majority of Black Group were sent on a beat just west of the entrance to the Beaulieu River and then on to Hampstead Ledge by Newtown on the island side.

Some boats were able to make use of the last ebb as they left Cowes before the flood set in for the spinnaker run back to the finish.

Local sailors met with success. Stephen and Benedict James from Lymington took IRC Class 4 in the classic Swan 48 Jacobite, while Kevan Regan and Guy Nicholls won IRC Class 7 sailing their Hunter Formula 28 Dick Dastardly.

Overseas competitors weren't disappointed, either. The Russian IMX45 Follow Me, entered by the UTS Sports Club Yugtransitservice, stole a march on the local boat Spirit of Jethou (Swan 601) to win IRC1. Serguei Schevtosov has had a successful season sailing in Europe, enjoying the Commodore's Cup and Cork Week before coming to Cowes.

Earlier in the week, the weather had been less than ideal. A misty dawn greeted the 857 entries on Day 1, but the mist was soon burnt off by the sun.

The wind, however, was the big problem - light and shifty, fading and dying across the Solent. This gave rise to a general postponement of three hours before an easterly Force 3 settled in the Eastern Solent.

With tide beneath the boats sweeping them over the start line, the IRC classes were cautious and it wasn't until the ultra competitive one designs, such as the Hunter 707s and XODs, that significant recalls were registered.

Day 2 saw the predicted 15/20 knot breeze arrive in good time, and thankfully the rain storms were delayed until the evening.

The multihull fleet are making their debut at Skandia Cowes Week, and were a real sight to behold as they flew away from the start line at upwards of 13 knots.

The class was dominated by the two 26 foot Firebirds with Brian Haynes in Carbon Tiger 2 jostling for position, too.

With a long beat to Mother Bank buoy towards Portsmouth, the multihulls aimed for the flat water up the middle of the Solent, leaving the thronging mele of pre-start boats around the Royal Yacht Squadron.

Thunderbolts and lightning made for a wet Day 3 with very light airs. This was frustrating for those having to short tack into the shallows off Beaulieu, trying to avoid the adverse tide. It meant a long day's racing, too, as many didn't scrape in to finish until just before 6pm.

One of the new classes to the regatta is the pretty RS Elite, which looks very much like a scaled-down America's Cup class yacht.

RS Elite racing was tight, with just 17 seconds separating the top three boats on Day 1. Mike Tong's Ciao Bella managed to nose ahead, scoring two wins, but Fidelity won the third race with Admiral Sir Sandy Woodward taking third place in Limelite.