UNDERNEATH the hulking mass of , as impressive a 100ft-plus sail boat as you will see, the best part of 1,500 sailors, race officials and hangers-on partied heartily on Wednesday night.

The setting of the Newport Shipyard provided the perfect backdrop for the participants of the centennial Newport-Bermuda race to get excited about the second largest ocean race in history.

Gosling's, a company twice as old as this race, were on hand to provide the traditional dark 'n' stormies ? drinks that have become even more synonymous with this race than the booze-fuelled World Rugby Classic ? while another alcoholic beverage also got on the scene.

Peroni, the drink of choice at pretty much every self-respecting Italian restaurant, are apparently trying to crack the American market and, as a result, chose to sponsor the Swan class in this event.

The contrast between the white leather jacket-clad chic Peroni girls, with their perfect hair, perfect make-up and intrinsic style, and the rather salty, windswept and ships' logo wearing sailors made for an interesting evening that still managed to last significantly beyond the bars closing time of a disappointingly early 8 p.m.

Strangely Tabasco were another sponsor of the event, adding spice to the complementary food and creating possibly the most bizarre selection of backers for a sailing party in history.

The event typified the nature of Newport-Bermuda, a 635-mile sailing challenge that is sandwiched on either side by a good week of parties at either end of the route.

The crowd were as diverse as you like, ranging from the owners of $8-million superboats, through sailor and Bermuda Governor Sir John Vereker, the son of legendary broadcaster Ted Turner, local volunteers and then the hardy masses of rank and file competitors from a wide range of nations, income groups and age brackets.

From professional crews running $2 million-a-year world-wide programmes ? what the average sailor calls the "arms race" ? to those choosing celestial navigation, the Newport-Bermuda race covers pretty much the full gamut of the sailing range and, even though their worlds couldn't be further apart, they are all brought together by the considerable challenge of getting to a speck in the Atlantic, via the unpredictable Gulf Stream, in as short a time as possible.

Although normally a popular event ? and absolutely regarded as one of the classic ocean races ? the 2006 sailing of the "Thrash to the Onion Patch" has proved a remarkable draw.

Pretty much anyone who has ever sailed this race, or thought about sailing it, has decided they want to be part of the anniversary event.

There had been early talk of breaking the 300-barrier, although the 267 who set sail today is still a highly respectable number ? and a large enough one to create Bermuda's largest ever sports tourism event (an influx of 3,000 people, five percent of the island's population, you do the math).

As important as the event is to these sailors, and the challenge of spending up to a week in unpredictable seas is not be sniffed at, there are other priorities in life.

And this was made all too apparent yesterday as near mutinies occurred across the fleet as English-based sailors cajoled their skippers into altering their lunchtime practice sails in order to go ashore to watch Peter Crouch et al sink the mighty Trinidad and Tobago.