With a bright blue sky, a blazing sun and a light breeze, but under the patronage of Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, the first race in the fifth international windsailing regatta in Bulgaria's Black Sea town of Sveti Vlas launched on the afternoon of July 18 2008.

Participating in the races, which will continue until Sunday July 20, are over 25 teams from Bulgaria and abroad, including Italy and the UK. Races are held in four classes. These classes include the Conrad 25R, Melges 24, yachts under 29 feet and cruisers over 29 feet. Registration would be kept open as long as possible to enable as more teams to take part, organisers said.

To make the races attractive for audiences, racing will take place close to the coast.

The official opening, earlier in the day, performed by Victor Sokachev in the presence of Sveti Vlas mayor Ivan Nikolov and the chairperson of the municipal council Blagoy Filipov.

Stanishev's participation in the opening took place by fax, since he was at the same time facing question time in Parliament. A congratulatory letter he sent was read by Sokachev. In it, Stanishev said he had always believed that along with traditional tourism, the development of prestigeous sea-tourism would attract investors and tourists to Bulgaria's Black Sea coast.