[SLIDESHOW] The 2013 Rolex Middle Sea Race

Over 100 yachts are expected to start the Rolex Middle Sea Race with Maxi Esimit Europa 2 forced to drop out of the race due to technical difficulties and will not be able to defend their Line Honours winning streak, dating back to 2010.

The honour of first boat back to the Royal Malta Yacht Club has been thrown wide open with at least six yachts in with a good chance and there is still the possibility of breaking the course record, set in 2007.

Looking at the performance capability of the fleet, Hasso Plattner's Z-86 Morning Glory should be the first yacht to finish the race. Morning Glory's crew is a star-studded world class assembly of sailors from the Volvo Ocean Race and America's Cup including; Robbie Naismith, Daryl Wislang, Chris Nicholson, Kevin Harrap, Jonathan Swain, Richard Mason, Curtis Blewitt and Warwick Fleury.

"Looking at our routing software we should finish the race Midday on Monday, which would be about 48 hours" commented Morning Glory's navigator Andrew Cape, who has six round the world races to his credit.

"We should see about 10-15 knots of wind at the start, how we progress through the Messina Strait will be a critical point in the race, but if we get through during the first night, Morning Glory could be at Stromboli before dawn. The next crucial point will be getting round Favignana and after that we could see more wind maybe as much as 20 knots, which should give us a fast ride to the finish.

Five other yachts have a fighting chance of beating Morning Glory to the finish line. Morning Glory is predicted to finish the 606-mile Rolex Middle Sea Race in 48 hours. The current record, set by George David's American Maxi, Rambler in 2007, is 47 hours 55 minutes and 3 seconds.

Alex Thomson's IMOCA 60, Hugo Boss with Spaniard Guilermo Atadil on board will be hoping for as much wind as possible to propel the powerful round the world yacht to its full potential. Spanish IMOCA 60 Gaes, which is co-skippered by Anna Corbella and Gerard Marin should have a close encounter with Hugo Boss. However both yachts will be racing double handed rather than fully crewed.

Andy Budgen's Volvo 70, Monster Project took Line Honours in this year's Coastal Race and has the potential to be the first yacht to complete the course. However, the light conditions predicted for the first two days will not suit the powerful hull shape of the British entry.

Andres Soriano has tasted Line Honours in the Rolex Middle Sea Race before, taking the gun in 2008. The latest Alegre is a Mills 72 and significantly quicker than Soriano's previous yacht but Alegre will find it hard to outpace Morning Glory. JV72 Robertissima II, skippered by Vasco Vascotti should have a close battle with Alegre, however the Italian team have only just started to race the yacht and it is unlikely to be up to full speed.

In 2012 the Slovenian Maxi Esimit Europa II returned to claim line Honours once again but the Rolex Middle Sea Trophy for first overall in IRC was won by the South African yacht Hi Fidelity. The overall winner in ORC was Optimum 3 Aspida from Greece.

The largest number of entries was 82 established in 2012.