The Cape to Rio race got off to a somewhat chaotic start on Saturday as the 21 yachts sailed for a few metres in Table Bay before the sea became virtually becalmed.
After the starter's gun fired at 3pm, crews eagerly readied themselves for the great transatlantic crossing. But the only movement was the chop on the water churned up by the flotilla of spectator boats seeing off the main fleet.
The smaller, slower entrants left last weekend.
While the crews spent agonising and frustrating minutes battling in near windless conditions off the Granger Bay breakwater, scantily-clad spectators lounged on yacht decks with drinks in hand.
These craft made conditions a little tougher for entrants trying to negotiate the buoys.
Everyone was eager to reach the first buoy and the favourites, German maxi Morning Glory and Swedish trimaran Nicator, had to take a backseat to the Brazilian catamaran Adrenalina Pura which got there first, followed by another German entry, Diel, with a crew of six pupils from Reddam House school in Cape Town.
But Nicator soon showed what she was made of, veering off after the first buoy towards Granger Bay where she picked up a fresh breeze and then rocketed across the ocean.
Morning Glory followed and soon the pair were but specks on the horizon, Morning Glory reaching a speed of more than nine knots.
But the news from two other teams was not so good. Nearly three hours after the start, the development crew on loveLife had moved little more than one nautical mile and the Madiba Racing Team broke their mast minutes after the gun.
Luckily her support yacht from the Ocean Sailing Academy swopped a mast with her.
Sunday Argus's own crew member, Murray Williams on board loveLife, said at 6pm that they were only halfway to Robben Island.
"We haven't moved much because we just don't have any power.
"The crew's mood is okay, although some people are sea sick. But basically we're almost at the same place where we started," Williams said.
The day's festivities, attended by hundreds of well-wishers, yachting fanatics and relatives of competitors, started with the blessing of the waves by the Rev Patrick Mnqatu.
Then six admirals bade farewell to John Martin, skippering navy entry Fascination of Power, and wished him good luck.
Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Valli Moosa handed over a scroll containing a report-back on the 2002 world summit to inspia!2041 skipper Derek Shuttleworth, who will present it to Brazilian Environment Minister Maria Silva on their arrival in Rio de Janeiro.