Such was the effect of the lightening breeze, the results through the water proved almost exactly the same on handicap, with My Song finishing in 2nd on corrected time, just over six minutes behind the Alfa Romeo yacht. Carlo Puri Negri's Atalanta was 3rd which, combined with an 8th from the first race, moves the IMS Farr 70 up to first overall in the big boat division. The duelling Swan 601s - Artemis and Cuordileone - took 4th and 5th on handicap in today's race, which also moves them up to 4th and 5th in the overall rankings. Torbjorn Tornqvist, owner/driver of Artemis, enjoyed the race despite the challenging conditions. "Today was a different race compared with the stronger winds we had yesterday," said the Swedish businessman. "But we sailed very well, it was difficult conditions - light winds and waves - very tricky. We had to avoid a cruise ship on the first leg - which lost us some time - but something like that happens every day for every boat. You have to take life as life comes. You learn that lesson when you are racing in the Mediterranean."

As the breeze dropped ever lighter, the smaller boats struggled to reach the finish line before the time limit expired. Only 16 of the 43 entrants in the big boat division completed the race. The top five finishers from race 1 were all outside the time limit and have plummeted down the overall rankings.

There was a similar pattern to the outcome of the small-boat division, whose 26-mile course was shortened as it became apparent that the wind was disappearing. A trio of IMX 40s took the top three places. Alberto Cogni's Clean Energy won by over five minutes from Luigi Balestra's Maluba, followed by the French boat Magic Simca, owned by Laurent Lavaysse, a further six minutes back. Yesterday's winner, the Grand Soleil 40 Synergy, finished 5th today, behind the three IMX 40s and another Grand Soleil 40 Despeinada in 4th. Skipper of the Russian team on Synergy, Alexei Nikolaev, commented: "We are sailing with more people than we should be, because we are training up for a new Transpac 52. But this means we are sailing a little too heavy for light winds like today. It wasn't good weather for us. We need strong winds to justify the number of crew. Maybe the wind will be stronger tomorrow.."

Now in its 54th year, the Giraglia Rolex Cup is established as one of the classic regattas of the Mediterranean. The regatta, sponsored by Rolex for the past nine years, comprises three days' inshore racing in the Bay of St Tropez, and culminates in the 243-mile offshore race via the Giraglia Rock to the Italian port of Genoa.