Dunstone extends successful run as Jardine closes in on Captain's Cup

With six wins out of seven class one starts, Charles Dunstone has had one of the most successful runs ever in his 52-foot Rio in Cowes Week. Yesterday he added the Rocking Chair Trophy to all his other silverware and the only man to beat him into second place was Peter Vroon of the Netherlands in Tonnere of Breskens.

At the other end of the scale the 75-year old Stuart Jardine is close to winning the Captain's Cup as best of the week in the X One Design. Other top performers are Graham and Stephen Bailey, not related but united in dominating the Etchells fleet.

The top three quarter tonners remain locked as tightly as ever, only one point separating them. Howard Sellars and Mike Till still lead in Bullet with Brett Lindon and Jamie McDowell 0.4 of a point behind in Diamond. The regatta finishes today with many yachts either winding down or preparing for the Rolex Fastnet Race, which starts tomorrow.

The Alinghi catamaran that will defend the America's Cup next February was airlifted from its Lake Geneva home yesterday to its staging post, a Mediterranean base at the Cantieri Amico shipyard in Genoa, Italy.

Meanwhile about 7,000 miles away on the west coast of the United States all eyes were on the wording of the measurement procedures for the challenger, BMW-Oracle's, yacht, First reactions from Larry Ellison's spokesman, Tom Ehman, were "we are reviewing our options" and "we have just received the Societe Nautique de Geneve's so-called 'measurement procedures'. We are analysing them now, but there is a number of irregularities".

Measurement would take place under Alinghi supervision, in Ras al-Khaimah, if the Persian Gulf remains the venue for the best of three scheduled to start on 8 February. The venue may still be contested.