2000 race with vessels arriving in St. George's as early as Saturday.

Four of the class C ships, two from Germany and two from the UK, are battling it out to be first over the third leg finish line east of Town Cut Channel.

The challenge for line honours is being led by Peter von Danzig , which was 500 miles off Bermuda at noon yesterday traveling at 6.6 knots.

British ships Ocean Spirit of Moray and Rona II are neck and neck with the Ocean Spirit just two miles ahead at 550 miles while Esprit , from Germany, lies in fourth place.

The results will be corrected to take into account size, rig and age of the vessels before the official prize giving in Hamilton on Saturday June 10. The trans-Atlantic sailing race is for young people aged 15-25 -- organisers of the Bermuda port event have been preparing for the ships' arrival for more than three years. Brian Billings, chairman of Tall Ships 2000 Bermuda, said he was delighted the ships would be here so soon.

He said: "It's amazing to think the fleet is nearly here. We are expecting more than 50 vessels.''