Helmed by Thomas Blixt, it had a good start keeping pace with its three other competitors in the Racing Class as it was neck-to-neck as they approached the first mark.

But rounding the mark with finesse as it tacked portside ahead of the other boats it raced ahead as tactician Bjorn Swedin, mapped a course catching the northerly winds.

Taking the windward course at 15 knots, it was way in front when it rounded the next mark but as the crew brought down the spinnaker it got caught in the spreader base of the mast resulting in a member of the crew having to climb the mast to untangle it.

The boat, which had won several international honours including coming in second in the Volvo Ocean Race in 2002 lost precious seconds in the debacle which also resulted in a six-metre tear in the spinnaker.

The crew which included three members from Ericsson headquarters in Cyberjaya – Stefan Karlsson, Johan Maresch and N. Gopinath – gamely fought to catch the wind, tacking and jibing, to finish ahead of its rivals.

However, because of the high handicap it carried it was placed second to Ulumulu Quantum Racing, skippered by Troy Yaw, which finished 24 minutes behind it.

Third place in the racing class went to Mahligai captained by John Thornton. In the Premier Racing Class, David Lindahl skippered La Samudra came in first followed by Beaux Espirits which had Keith Garry at the helm.

In the Sports Boat category the Royal Malaysian Navy's KDP II captained by Masyuri Rahmat was first followed by Motornet skippered by Kenichi Takahashi and Sail in Asia with Mathew Rickard at the helm.

The IRC Race was won by Cinders with Kevin Gallow shouting the orders, the multihull category went to Moto Inzi with Roger Kingdon at the helm, Bolero captained by E.A.Y. Heuvel won the Club Cruising class while Rusalka skippered by Kevan Perrins won the Ocean Rover race.

The organisers are hoping to hold two races tomorrow for the faster boats, wind conditions permitting, as all the boats will line up at 10am in the open seas instead of the harbour race that was held today.