A record 140 boats from around 32 countries worldwide are registered to take part in this year's Rolex Middle Sea Race which gets under way on Saturday.

This was revealed during a press conference yesterday at noon, held to launch this year's event which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Addressing the conference, Godwin Zammit, the RMYC Commodore, said this year's event was a special race and he was not surprised that such a large number of participants has been registered because it has become a big attraction for sailing enthusiasts.

George Bonello DuPuis, Rear Commodore Special Events, said everyone was hoping for some good weather.

He added: "We are very pleased to have 140 registered boats. Perhaps there will be a few who will drop out, but we strongly believe the line-up will be bigger than the 122 of last year."

Parliamentary Secretary for Sport, Dr Clifton Grima, welcomed those present and stressed about the importance of the Rolex Middle Sea Race which, year on year, attracts some of the world's high-profile crews and boats to the island.

"The event has grown so much in importance because Malta is the ideal place to stage such a big event which provides a spectacle," he said.

He finally augured the organisers success. "We must work together to make this race another huge success," he added.

Peter Dimech, Principal Race Officer, said the programme is very similar to that of previous years.

He added: "It all begins tomorrow with the short Coastal Race starting from Marsamxett Harbour and going on to round Comino and back.

"The 39th edition of the race gets under way on Saturday from Grand Harbour. The first start will be at 11am - there will be a start every 10 minutes for each class. The Saluting Battery at the Upper Barracca Gardens will certainly make it a spectacular start," he added.

He went on to say that the largest boat ever - Nikata - will also be taking part. "It is a massive 115 feet long and should be a real spectacle watching this boat leaving Grand Harbour at the start," he said.

The first edition in 1968 saw only eight boats taking part and the winner was John Ripard on his boat Josian. Stormvogel had won Line Honours.

The most successful nation Arthur Podesta was the sailor who took part in most editions - 34.

Nine local boats are registered to take part and there will be more than 100 Maltese sailors taking part, some also on foreign-owned boats.

George David's Rambler is the holder of the course record - 47 hours 55 minutes and 3 seconds.

It is still early to predict what type of weather the sailors will be facing, but Mr Dimech said they will be close to make predictions with the help of the Italian meteorologists near the weekend.

During the conference, Dott. Vattani of the Rome Yacht Club, presented a trophy in the form of a sail to be presented to the winners of the Double-Handed class.

He said no one could make any comparison of the Rolex Middle Sea Race to other races held in the Mediterranean.