CREWS of the Volvo Ocean Race put on a Grand Prix-style show for the thousands of spectators who turned out to witness the fastest ever start from Southampton yesterday.

The Solent was transformed into a sea of froth as support boats churned up the waters to give the Volvo fleet a sensational send off on their first leg of the 33,000-mile race around the world.

Driven by a stiff northerly breeze, the eight state-of-the-art racing machines hurtled over the Royal Yacht Squadron start line near Cowes and set off at a blistering pace towards the Needles.

Dramatically, the all-women's boat Amer Sports Too, led by Hamble yachtswoman Lisa McDonald, blew its kite within seconds of crossing the start line. The shredded sail was left flapping in the wind as the crew raised their second spinnaker and attempted to recover lost ground.

First over the line was the Swedish boat Team SEB, but within minutes their advantage was wiped out by Kiwi legend Grant Dalton and his team on Amer Sports One. They achieved jaw-dropping speeds of 18 knots to lead the fleet through the Hurst Narrows and out towards the open seas.

His performance silenced critics who had questioned his choice of yacht designer. Most of the VOR 60 boats came from the drawing board of the world renowned Bruce Farr but Dalton, competing in the event for the sixth time, took a gamble by commissioning his boat from Milan-based Frers design group.

After the first eight miles of the race, the boat, which was noticeably faster than the rest, sent bookies scrambling to re-write their race odds.

Team Tyco, with five local yachtsmen in the crew of 12, were second over the start. However as the fleet separated into two divisions, Team Tyco fell back to join Team News Corp, skippered by Lymington's Jez Fanstone and Assa Abloy, the Lymington-built boat crewed among others by Hamble's Neal McDonald and Jason Carrington.

After Prince Andrew fired the start gun, helmsmen had a difficult time dodging the hundreds of small motor boats which, in their enthusiasm ventured too close to the fleet.

But, while a handful of close calls had crews shouting and gesticulating madly, all eight boats emerged unscathed for the long haul to Cape Town, where they are due to arrive in 30 days' time.

The boats left in alphabetical order but the loudest cheers were saved for final crew Team Tyco, which numbers the popular south coast sailors Steve Hayles, Gerry Mitchell, Tim Powell and Guy Salter among their crew.