AN experienced crew, a fast boat, and a dash of lady luck were three major factors attributed to Pyewacket's record-smashing exploits in this year's 43rd edition of the Newport to Bermuda Race.

Setting course for Bermuda last Friday, the 75-foot Reichel-Pugh maxi - aided by moderate 12 to 15 knot winds - began the 635-mile journey from Narragansett Bay in search of the Gulf Stream's lucrative, warm currents.

Navigator Stanley Honey couldn't have chartered a better course, as Pyewacket hit the jackpot and took full advantage of a generous loop current en route to breaking Boomerang's six-year-old record that many predicated could possibly fall; given the ideal weather forecasts of an impending cold front across the northern wall of the Gulf Stream.

"There was a bend in the Gulf Stream that we were looking for that had quite a bit of current in it,"revealed owner 72-year-old Roy Disney, earlier this week onboard his downwind marvel.

However, it wasn't all smooth sailing for the California entry as she, like many of her rivals, encountered "ten to 14-foot square waves" around mid-day on Saturday, making life on the high seas somewhat tedious for the next six hours, with many of her crew falling ill from motion sickness.

The designated cook onboard enjoying a relatively free ride as his crewmates had hardly little or no appetite at all. But after taking the proper precautions to preserve both man and vessel, skipper Disney - nephew of the famous king of animation Walt - managed to safely guide his boat first across the finish line off St.David's in record time, bettering the previous mark of 57 hours, 31 minutes and 50 seconds, by some three hours, 52 minutes and 28 seconds.

Boomerang crossed the finish line some 23 minutes later to take second place line honours in the Racing Division, while also bettering her previous mark - albeit in a losing cause.

Blue Yankee - still coming to grips with the recent loss of former skipper Jamie Boeckel who was swept overboard during the recent Try-Sail 57th Block Island Race on the Long Island Sound - sailed away with the Gibb's Hill Lighthouse trophy in a winning corrected time of 51 hours, 59 minutes and 23 seconds.

Zaraffa took line honours in the Cruising Division.

"We were prudent," added Disney. "We just basically geared back and took down most of our sails and since the Gulf Stream was helping us we were still making good speed toward the mark. But more importantly, we weren't damaging the boat which was critical."

Saturday's squalls providing yet more drama on the high seas as four crewman were tossed into the Atlantic ocean, but were all plucked to safety within moments of going over the rails.

"Anybody could have easily gone over the side in those conditions," noted Disney. "But we had an awful lot of our guys clipped on at all times. It was just a matter of self preservation."

This was only Disney's second crossing, having previously made the journey in 1982, on board Enterprise - a boat he previously owned.

He has also headed up the animation division at the world renowned studios in Orlando, Florida for the past 20 years.

"All in all it was a great race and we are just delighted with the performance of the boat.

"We had a couple of things break, but nothing major and we also feel privileged to have did it first, because Boomerang broke their own record in 1996.

"We had a great crew on the boat. A lot of them have been sailing together for quite a long time (15 years) and it's just great to be on a boat where you can count on everyone to do the right thing all of the time and you can smile about it. The arguments are fun arguments.

"We know each other very well. We also know how to make the boat go fast and we enjoy winning. It's a great feeling on board when we are doing well. We also know when we are not doing well and if we have to work harder - then nobody's afraid to put in the extra effort.

"We thought we were going to do even better on the record near the end before this strange little squall came through and slowed us down. At that point we began to wonder if we would ever get here, but a good sailing breeze came up from the south and brought us in."

Despite having set a new mark in this year's race, Pyewacket is by no means a stranger to the record smashing arena, having established a new record recently in the Trans Pacific Ocean Race , while also racking up wins in the Mediterranean and Hawaii. She is also coming off a sensational run of form on the Caribbean Racing circuit, where Disney and his seasoned cast savoured the sweet taste of victory on numerous occasions.

When asked what remained on the horizon for Pyewacket, Disney said: "When we leave here she is going back to Newport. She will then be trucked to Chicago for a very famous 300 mile race that has been going on for over 100 years and we've been thinking about breaking that record too!

"So I figure we will give it a try and then we will be heading back to the west coast (California)."