ALICANTE, Spain — The Volvo Ocean Race started today with eight teams racing into strong wind and choppy seas, each seeking to claim one of sailing's most prestigious prizes.

Windy conditions and a white-capped sea made it hard to hear the start gun for the 37,000 nautical mile round-the-world race from Alicante to the finish line in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Ericsson 4, skippered by Torben Grael, made the fastest start through heavy swells, leading around the first two markers off the southeastern Mediterranean coast. The boat was a minute ahead of Puma, with Telefonica Blue in third place. Team Russia ran into early problems and was in last place as the boats headed away from port.

The 11-man crews will race southwest to the Strait of Gibraltar before veering south to tackle the Atlantic Ocean on the 7,840-mile first leg to Cape Town in South Africa.

Before reaching the Atlantic, however, the boats will have to endure storm conditions around Gibraltar. Two cargo ships ran aground on Saturday.

The 35,000 ton cargo ship "Fedra" with 31 crew aboard hit rocks and broke in two. The Liberian-flagged "Tawe" with 22 crew also beached in Algeciras Bay. All the merchant crew members were rescued safely, according to the regional government of Andalucia.

The yachts taking part are among the fastest designed, leading to an expectation that the race record for the fastest 24-hour run by a monohull will be broken. The boats are easily capable of covering 500 miles — and more — in a 24 hour period given the right conditions. The current 24 hour record of 562.96 nautical miles was set by ABN AMRO 2 in the last edition of the race.

There are 10 legs and six in-port regattas where teams can score points before crossing the line in June.

Spanish yacht Telefonica Blue has an early lead with four points after sweeping two in-port races at Alicante last week. Sister ship Telefonica Black claimed 3.5 points with Puma third on 3 points.

After Cape Town, crews will follow new race routes to India and China, aiming to steer well clear of the east coast of Africa, where Somalian pirates have attacked more than 60 boats in the past year.

Organizers have taken precautions so that crews won't have to take too many risks on their way to Cochin, India. Each boat reportedly has a hot line connected to naval forces along the route.