Pre-race favourite Cadibarra 8 has avoided chaotic scenes at the start of the Melbourne to Hobart yacht race to be the first boat through Port Phillip Heads.
Four yachts came together in two separate incidents as the Melbourne to Hobart and Melbourne to Devonport races got underway off Portsea on Tuesday morning.
However, the Paul Roberts-skippered Jones 42 managed to avoid the trouble to be first out of the heads.
"We made a nice, long start line but for some reason they all decided to come up to the (starting) boat end and there just wasn't enough room," race director Simon Dryden told AAP.
"There were a couple of little collisions but fortunately because the wind was light there was only minor damage.
"Nothing more than a few bruised egos."
The boats involved - White Noise, BKT Jamhu, Archie and Lord Jiminy - all remain in the fleet, while Christine, skippered by Paul Bunn, withdrew from the Devonport race with engine problems soon after the start.
Cadibarra 8 had established a slim lead in the Melbourne to Hobart race on Tuesday evening, while BKT Jamhu was part of a tight bunch of boats leading the way in the Melbourne to Devonport race.
"The (Devonport) fleet is spread very wide west to east," Dryden said.
"It could be anybody's game."
Winds were forecast to pick up overnight with the Melbourne to Devonport race winner expected across the line around midday on Wednesday.
The first boat in the 10-strong Hobart fleet is expected to cross the finish line late afternoon to early evening on Thursday after completing the 440-nautical-mile course around the southern tip of Tasmania.
Shortwave set the course record for the Melbourne to Hobart race - just over one day and 17 hours - in 2008.
Bare Essentials, skippered by Tim Pepperell, took line honours in the annual Cock of the Bay race on Boxing Day, setting a new multi-hull race record, with Dream taking line honours in the mono-hull class.
