Spinnakers were up as the 32nd edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race got under way from Grand Harbour this morning.

Skippers sought to make the best of a favourable wind under cloudy skies as the first of the 70 participating yachts got off the starting line off Fort St Angelo upon the signal from the shots fired from the antique guns of the Upper Barrakka.

Last off were the spectacular superyachts in the fourth start of the morning as the rain started to fall.

Hundreds of people watched the starts of the 600km race, the most important and spectacular in the Mediterranean which takes the yachts round Sicily and 18 smaller islands (and two volcanoes) and back to Malta.

The race drew entries from 16 countries with Italy the best represented with 26 boats, followed by Malta and the United Kingdom, with nine each.

The biggest  is the 100-footer Esimit Europa 2, from Slovenia, which made a very strong start.  Accomplished German sailor Jochen Schumann is on board as skipper, in his first Rolex Middle Sea Race.

One of the more closely watched rivalries will be between Niklas Zennstrom's J/V 72, Ran (GBR) and Andres Soriano's Mark Mills-designed 68-footer Alegre (GBR).

Alegre will be competing in her fourth race, having achieved a line honours win in 2008 and overall race win in 2009.