Rudy Bailey and teenage daughter Danielle sailed the distinctive blue hull of Temptation to victory in yesterday's 60th annual Long Distance Comet Race, ensuring the coveted Edward Cross Cup took up new residence at the West End Sailboat Club for the next 12 months.

The father-daughter team proved to be in uncompromising form, leading the fleet over most of the race course to seize line honours in a pulsating one hour, 59 minutes and five seconds - nearly three minutes ahead of runner-up and last year's champion Stevie Dickinson and nephew Jahron in Kitty Hawk.

Jamie Harvey and crew Roger Goodchild onboard Team Windtammer placed third in a time of two hours, three minutes and 42 seconds.

For Bailey, now an eight -time champion, yesterday's triumph was his second in three years after capturing line honours in 2002 with his 18 year-old daughter.

“I love a drag race!” exclaimed the newly crowned champion. “I just went out there and let the boat run wild.”

And that's exactly what yesterday's race panned out to be... a ‘wild' downwind drag race and true test of character as skippers were greeted by an unforgiving northeast head-wind heading out of the Town Cut in St.George's harbour to Fort St.Catherine.

But unlike the bulk of the race fleet, Bailey took a gamble and steered clear of his rivals further off-shore once he negotiated the turn at Fort St.Catherine to be embraced by ‘clean air' and no wake from the large flotilla of spectator crafts which cuddled the fleet along the Island's northern coast.

The move worked to perfection.

“I knew I could pull it off. Cream always rises to the top,” added Bailey with a smile. “I was probably in fourth or fifth heading to the Cut but by the time we reached Fort St.Catherine it was just Stevie (Dickinson), myself and Malcolm (Smith) out front.”

However, once Smith (Mai Lucy III) capsized near the Oil Docks, an all too familiar scenario began to unfold - Bailey and Dickinson jockeying for top honours.

If Bailey would have had a mirror onboard, all he would have seen was the red-hull of famed Kitty Hawk in hot pursuit.

But for Dickinson, it just wasn't to be, as Bailey gradually increased his lead as the finish line beckoned, seizing line honours on home surf in front of hundreds of spectators on the terraces of the West End Sailboat Club and surrounding shoreline.

“A win is a win and I have learned to take my wins with my defeats,” Bailey stated. “I was taught to just go out there on the race course and do the best that you can.”

On a sombre note, however, Smith's miraculous comeback from the back of the fleet after capsizing earlier in the race was marred at the finish line. Smith should have entered the record books in third place, however, a large spectator boat obscured one of the finish line buoys, misleading the 2003 Athlete of the Year into believing the stern of the race committee boat and another marker was the actual finish.

Once Smith was ordered to turn around and go through the two markers, Harvey moved in like a thief in the night to steal third place honours.

“It was unfortunate we had an accident going downwind. Our whisker pole came unclipped and we were jiving and turned over which was very unfortunate because we were in a really good position (top three) at the time,” explained Smith's crew, Damian Payne.

“But we managed to get back to the front of the fleet but there was just a little confusion at the finish line. Usually we finish race between a boat and a buoy and right at the last minute there was a guy on the front of the boat (committee boat) pointing. It wasn't until we actually passed the line I said ‘Malcolm we have to go around again because we just passed two buoys' - but that's sailing. It was a big day; beautiful weather for sailing and a lot of fun.”

Meanwhile, promising young Laser Radial skipper Jesse Kirkland and crew Rajae Woods (Outlaw) were also pleased with the day's harvest. The talented duo placed a highly respectable fifth.

“It was pretty exciting out there today. The conditions were great and we are very pleased with our performance,” Kirkland commented.

Yesterday saw a total 25 boats make it to the start, the largest racing fleet in recent years.