However, for the kiteboarders here as part of Sail Melbourne invited class program, these were the conditions they had been hoping for.

At noon, the ISAF Sailing World Cup and Sail Melbourne Event IRO, Ross Wilson, commented on Tuesday's racing schedule in light of the weather. "We have an Answering Pennant over A flying now, which moves racing for the 49er, FX, Skud 18, Access Liberty, Viper catamaran, 29er, Laser 4.7 and 420 to another day.

"The AP is flying for 470, Finn, RSX, Laser and Laser Radial, with Race Management heading on water to continue their assessment. If it is under 25 knots we will be racing these classes, otherwise it will remain an AP. Kiteboarding is to get underway on time at 1200hrs."

However, at 1530hrs it became clear that racing was not going to occur for the other classes and all racing was abandoned, with an extra race scheduled for both Wednesday and Thursday to catch up.

Watching the skill of the kiteboarders today in the strong conditions, you could see how hard they work to keep it looking smooth. You would think that going back downwind would be easier for them, but this is actually where the real challenge lies, given the power inside the kite.

Germany's Florian Gruber leads after six races with a string of six, first places. In second is New Zealand's Torrin Bright and Dirk Hanel of Germany holds down third place still. The women kiteboarders use longer digs to get to the top mark and are slower on the track, as well, so have much longer races before returning to the beach. Their dedication in these types of conditions is more than commendable and together with the Race Management team out there, they deserve a special mention. No doubt they will be very tired tonight.

France's Ariane Imbert has had four wins and second to stand well clear on the top of the table, with Australia's Lisa Hickman four points behind her and Marine Sudre a further five points astern, again.

Competitors in the Olympic classes will be back in action on Wednesday after a frustrating day on shore, however after a full complement of racing the on day one London 2012 Olympic Games gold medallist Mathew Belcher and new crew Will Ryan got their Rio campaign off to the perfect start. With two wins from two starts they sit at the top of the Men's 470 fleet, five points clear of South Africa's Jim Asenathi and Roger Hudson.

Brendan Casey leads an all-Australian top three in the Finn class, with two opening day wins giving him a three-point lead over Oliver Tweddell and Jake Lilley.

Australians hold down the top five positions in the Laser class with Ryan Palk ending day one first overall. Tom Burton is one point behind in second, followed by Matthew Wearn, Jared West and Ashley Brunning.

Ashley Stoddart and Krystal Weir are tied on points at the front of the Laser Radial fleet, with Stoddart edging out the two-time Olympian on a countback. Louise Evans is four points further back in third.

Sisters Sasha and Jaime Ryan are first in the Women's 470, mirroring their older brother Will's start, with a pair of wins. Lucy Shephard and Aurora Paterson are second with new combination Elise Rechichi and Sarah Cook ending their first day of competition together in third.

In the new 49erFX class Beijing 2008 gold medallist Tessa Parkinson and crew Kate Lathouras are currently first overall after two wins and a fourth on Port Phillip Bay.

New Zealanders Alex Maloney and Molly Meech are second with London 2012 silver medallist Olivia Price and crew James Sly third.

Steven Thomas and Rhys Mara lead the 49er fleet after three races, one point ahead of Luke Parkinson and Jaspar Warren. New combination Sam Kivell and Sam Phillips are third.

In the RS:X class Sam Treharne is first overall, one point clear of Luke Baillie with Patrick Vos in third.

The ISAF Sailing World Cup Manager, Antonio Gonzalez de la Madrid, is in Melbourne to witness the racing and was pleased with what he's seen so far, "Melbourne has signed on for another fours years to have the Sailing World Cup here and this is the first event inside the new structure, with the new format. Miami follows, with Palma de Mallorca and Hyères to follow in 2013. Qingdao will lead off 2013/14 in October, before we return here to Melbourne, Miami, a Middle East venue, then Palma and Hyères. The plan is to have the Sailing World Cup occur on each continent or region and help promote the growth of the sport.

"The facilities here at Sandringham are absolutely what ISAF requires with a tremendous hardstand area and the huge balcony from which to view the racing, close in shore. It really offers a lot in terms of exposing the Olympic classes to sailors and the public alike," said de la Madrid.

Results