Just as the hopeful unemployed describe themselves as ''between jobs'', the organisers from the Clyde Cruising Club and the 231 crews at Scotland's premier annual race series will be hoping that the prestigous regatta is merely ''between sponsors'', as the Tarbert Scottish Series answers the starters' canons simultaneously at start lines off Gourock and Bangor in Northern Ireland on Thursday evening.

Ahead will be the usual mixed fare comprising a long offshore race to Tarbert, a short inshore race around Loch Fyne and a feast of Olympic and windward-leeward courses, which, along with the picturesque backdrop and the unique ambiance of the Kintyre village haven, have contributed to the enduring popularity of the event.

The slightly increased entry is due, perhaps, to the strong possibility that after more than two decades Tarbert had already witnessed its last Scottish Series. This came to a head late last summer as the organisers sought to find a solution to the problem of no sponsorship funding, and mooted moving the event to the Ayrshire coast.

Whether this racing armada from all over Britain and Ireland is uniting for Tarbert's swansong series, or in continued solidarity with the villagers and the raft of Kintyre businesses which benefit from the annual invasion of 3000 plus yotties and spectators who swell the coffers by an estimated #0.5m over the five days the fleet is in abeyance, will not be decided until the smoke has cleared from the finish guns saluting the victorious yachts.

The departure of long-time sponsors Rover Cars after the last event left an uncertain future, and it has taken a vast amount of work to pull together a battery of supporting sponsors - from major funding from Argyll & The Islands Enterprise, Argyll & Bute Council and the European Community's Konver Fund through to the goodwill of sailmakers to butchers and bakers.

The Konver funding - around a quarter of the local input is available this year as part of European compensation for the closure of the Macrihanish air base - is believed to be unavailable next year.

The popularity of Tarbert arguably waxes and wanes with the winds on the Loch. A good year of solid breezes and sunshine and there is nowhere finer. A frustrating series of capricious zephyrs springing from all points of the compass and there is always talk of better, open water venues.

As an event it is steady evolution, rather than revolution which has kept the series on course.

Among the advances this year will be the results service - which is probably the most advanced of any British regatta and run by volunteers from Strathclyde Raynet.

For the first time the results will be available on the worldwide web (www.clyde.org) almost as they are computed.

The smaller, fast sportsboats have their own race track area for the first time and may race up to 10 short races, while at the more sedate end of the spectrum there are new restricted sail classes, for those who would prefer not to have their bank holiday weekend ruined by wrestling with acres of spinnaker cloth.

A new Class 2 for cruisers has been introduced for the first time, which requires more than half of the crew to sleep on board their craft for the duration of the series, which coupled to handicap and hull volume limitations is incorporated for the first time. The top two finishers in this class face mandatory promotion to the next league up.

The principal prize, The Scottish Series Trophy, is the universally coveted piece of silverware, but as a subjective award decided by the organising committee and sponsors, no amount of preparation and good sailing can guarantee success.

Only once has there been a successful title defence as Glasgow solicitor Simon Pender switched from the Sonata Red Hot Poker in 1988, to steering the Sigma 33 St Joan in 1989, and made history.

Last year's winning crew of Bateleur 97 the Iain Murray designed 36-foot BH 36, which was conceived by Glasgow businessman Geoffrey Howison, is largely intact and have made few changes to their succesful craft.

Owner Chris Bonar has won the trophy twice and has kept the same team together for a number of years and will surely be among the front runners in Class 1.

Among his main opposition will be Howison himself, a past winner of the main trophy. His Local Hero VX has a newer keel and rudder design and threatens to be quicker in the stiffer breezes.

This class is probably the regatta's hottest. Other past overall winners include Jonathan Anderson, who is the only owner to have won three times and will be sailing his First 42s7 Duckwall Pooley.

Scottish sailmaker John Highcock won three years ago and will be calling the tactics on Arran builders Ian and Graham Thomson's Swan 40 Sloop John T.

The biggest new class will be the Cork 1720 one design sportboats, which have mustered 14 boats from as far afield as Dublin, Cork and Falmouth.

Two past winners will be leading contenders in this fleet. Steve Goacher has dominated the Sonata class since he won the Scottish Series Trophy five years ago, but tries his hand at this new class in Luvvly Jubbly, while John Nesbit who won two years ago will be campaigning Finn McCouls.

Meanwhile, as Loch Fyne returns to its normal tranquility the following week the battles start for real. Tarbert will be looking to build more permanent financial foundations to continue to host the event, the push will be on again to find the #50,000 sponsorship required to keep this event, which is the country's second biggest after Cowes, flourishing, while the possibilty of the whole regatta moving to South Ayrshire may not yet have sunk without trace.