The Opening day of the Admiral's Cup was charged with drama and excitement, despite a grey, drizzly day in the Solent. The 14-16 knot westerly winds were strong enough for the boats to be fully loaded and when the Italian 49-footer, Madina Milano, spun out of control at the West Lepe buoy and collided into the Australian 50-foot Ragamuffin, it was remarkable that no one was injured.

It was a messy start for the 21boat fleet, representing seven nations, who are vying for this unofficial offshore racing world championship. Ireland has no team, but does have Tom Roche's Mumm 36footer, Jameson, from the Royal Irish Yacht Club sailing for the United States team.

The potent German team opened the series with a decisive performance from its large and mid-sized boats. The IMS-handicapped Rubin scored a first and third place, while ILC-40 footer held the day with two first places after tailing the bigger boats and clearly setting the pace for her rivals for rest of the event.

However, it was in the small boat Mumm 36 fleet that caused the controversy at the end of the day. While race one was relatively uneventful, the six boats racing in the second course of the day all sailed the wrong course and finish, leaving the international jury to sort out the confusion over how the this race should be scored for the class.

According to an official statement: "All six Mumms (Sweden's Mumm-a-mia did not start) rounded the final turning mark the wrong way. They all crossed the finish line. None received a finishing signal.

"Italy's Breeze, in sixth position then returned through the finish line, went back, unwound itself round the mark, rounded the correct way, and sailed back to and through the finish line again. "The others motored home. Provisional results show Breeze recorded as the only finisher in the class - but already the paperwork is flying as others, including Great Britain, the US and Germany, dispute the race committee's actions."

Meanwhile, Roche and his American crew had a mediocre opening day for a boat that was tipped as the pre-event favourite for its class along with Germany's Thomas I Punkt. Both seemed intent on covering each other with the latter scoring a third and the Irish boat fourth in race one. Race two results have yet to be announced, but while Germany leads overall, the US is second and clearly in need of top placings by Jameson in the coming days. Today, the Cup yachts start the Channel Race over a course designed to last 30 hours.