The Rolex Fastnet Race got underway today off Cowes, Isle of Wight

The Rolex Fastnet Race got underway today off Cowes, Isle of Wight, after a 25 hour postponement due to a severe weather warning. Alex Thomson’s Hugo Boss (GBR) had a great start in the double-handed IMOCA Open 60 Class and led the fleet past The Needles and out of The Solent.

The thousands of sailors competing in the race are braced for a bone-shaker ride to the Fastnet Rock, with brutal conditions forecast for the coming days. The first Open 60s are expected to cross the finish line off Plymouth in the early hours of Thursday 16 August.

It was an 11.00 BST kick off for the IMOCA Open 60 Class with 15 boats lining up off the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes. Thomson and co-skipper Andrew Cape executed a first class start in 15 knots of westerly breeze, which suited the new Finot-Conq design beautifully. As the fleet tacked up The Solent and passed The Needles it was Hugo Boss in the lead followed by her sister-ship Generali (FRA) and Estrella Damm (ESP) in third place.

'We got off to a great start and we are past the Needles now with 20 knots of wind from the south-west,' said Alex Thomson. 'When you have spent all that time and money on a new boat it is nice to know that you are on the pace. It is a long race though and we have tough weather forecast so the priority will be to keep the boat safe and learn as much as we can during the race.'

The Rolex Fastnet Race will take the fleet on a 608 nautical mile course around the Fastnet Rock off the south coast of Ireland, before returning to Plymouth. According to Chris Tibbs, meteorologist for the Rolex Fastnet Race, Tuesday should see the strongest winds, likely to be near the Lizard and Land's End with wind from the south-southwest Force 6/7 (25 - 38 kts), with a possible increase to gale-force Force 8 (34 - 40 kts).

For Hugo Boss and a number of other Open 60s including Delta Dore, PRB and Estrella Damm, the Rolex Fastnet will act as a prologue race for the Barcelona World Race which begins on 11 November. It will count towards the 2,800 miles required in advance of the start.

The first IMOCA Open 60 Class yacht to cross the finish line in Plymouth will be presented with the Artemis Trophy.

Ex-wife of Ford also wants his Rolex

Says ex-senator pledged it in lieu of child support

First, John Ford wore the $70,000 Rolex watch, showing off the diamond-encrusted timepiece to his friends, including one undercover federal agent.

Then the feds took possession of the watch and are now hoping to keep it, claiming the Rolex was an "ill-gotten gain" received through criminal activities.

Ford's ex-wife said Sunday that she plans to sue to keep the watch, claiming her ex-husband promised the Rolex three years ago in lieu of child-support payments.

"When it comes down to that watch, I want to know how somebody can seize that watch when it's pledged to the family," Tamara Mitchell-Ford said in a telephone interview. "That watch was pledged in lieu of child support. And I want it."

Of course, it won't be as easy as that. When the federal government wants something, it stands a good chance of getting it.

Reached Sunday afternoon, U.S. Atty. David Kustoff would only say, "Since it involves pending litigation, I can't comment."

Mitchell-Ford, though, wasn't under any such restrictions.

"When I got divorced, I got nothing. No child support, no custody, no alimony. What was promised out of that was that watch," she said. "They're trying to seize something that's personal property. I'm getting ready to file a lawsuit against that watch. That is personal property pledged to my children to live on."

The 65-year-old Ford, who will be sentenced Aug. 27 for accepting $55,000 in cash bribes in exchange for influence, wasn't in a mood to talk to the media Sunday afternoon.

"Let me stop you right there," Ford said when reached on his cell phone. "Don't call me ever and tell me what my ex-wife has said."