What may be the biggest crowd in history ever to watch a yacht race basked in the sunshine of the Venice waterfront running almost up to St Mark’s Square to see what many thought was the America’s Cup in action but is the world series for potential America’s Cup competitors racing on what is usually one of the busiest bits of water in Europe.

The prospect of Britain’s Ben Ainslie being at the helm of the American defence of the America’s Cup next year was made clear in Venice by the boss of the Oracle team he has joined while Ainslie himself was being crowned world champion of the Finn singlehanded dinghy for the sixth time in Falmouth.

It was a bit like launching a sports car in Oxford Street and taking it for a spin down to Piccadilly Circus – or, in the case of San Francisco, Union Square – but the latest spin-off in the development of the America’s Cup brand took place in front of the Palazzo Ducale, next to the Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Square and will give youth a chance.

The continuing battle between Brazil’s Robert Scheidt, reigning Olympic gold medallist Iain Percy, and Britain’s top sailors ramped up another notch in Hyères today as Scheidt, with crew Bruno Prada, snatched the world championship of the Star keelboat class from Percy and crew Andrew Simpson.

A fight to overturn a decision to kick windsurfing out of the Olympic Games in 2016 has been promised by the windsurfers themselves as kiteboarding has been given the two medal events.

Britain added two silver medals to the gold and silver already secured at the World Cup Regatta in Palma de Mallorca.

It went down to the wire. Kenny Read’s American-flagged Puma had been in hand-to-hand combat with French rival Franck Cammas until Groupama’s mast fell down on the home straight of the fifth leg of the Volvo round the world race from Auckland to Itajai, Brazil.

Franck Cammas and the crew of the French team in the Volvo round the world race are working flat out to construct some sort of makeshift, jury rig in the Uruguayan port of Punta del Este in a bid to complete the last 600 miles of leg five from Auckland to Itajai, Brazil.

Many visitors pouring into London this summer for the Olympics will arrive at Nadia Comaneci. They'll need to travel by tube to Simon Whitfield (via Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal) before changing there and heading to Michael Phelps (via Carl Lewis).

Britain’s top prospect for Olympic sailing glory has come through unscathed following an official inquiry into his disqualification from a world championship regatta in Australia in December.

For once the dream script came true as Britain’s Ian Walker took the Abu Dhabi entry in the Volvo round the world race to victory in the inshore race of his new home port.

Ben Ainslie yesterday insisted that America's Cup commitments will not jeopardise his quest for a fourth Olympic gold this summer.

Britain, who topped the sailing medal table four years ago, will be in contention for a podium place in all 10 categories at London 2012, according to the man charged with ensuring the home nation rule their own waves.

British favourite for a fourth Olympic gold thrown out of world championships after confronting camera boat on the water