will get a dream trip back home later this week...as a participant in the TransAt Daytona to Bermuda Yacht Race.

Nicholas Rose will be one of four crew members aboard Dr. Ted Yaeger's brand new 38-foot Catalina, Dreamy Daze , which sets off on the 875 nautical mile race on Saturday.

Rose jumped at the opportunity after hearing of it through a professor at school who is a neighbour of Dr. Yaeger.

"I heard about the race and was wondering if they needed a crew member,'' he said. "I can show them the Island, of course.'' Rose is studying Aeronautical Science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach. He has a commercial multi-engine rating and is aiming to qualify as a commercial pilot.

And, as he'll no doubt discover when he becomes a pilot, there will be little stopover time when he reaches his destination.

"I'll only be staying for one week, then we'll cruise back up and I go onto Pittsburgh for an internship for the summer and fall,'' said Rose, adding he hoped to serve his internship with a major US airline.

Still, he is looking forward to his first long distance race.

"It's going to be great, demanding, but I want to build my confidence and further test my reaction to challenges,'' said the 22-year-old third-year student. "I really want to know what it's like.

The biennial race which celebrated its tenth event in 1995 is jointly staged by St. George's Dinghy and Sports Club and the Halifax River Yacht Club of Florida.

Commodore of the St. George's Dinghy and Sports Club, Mariea Caisey and three other committee members, Marilyn Lewis, Maria Hassell and Charles Johnston, will travel to Daytona Beach for the start of the race.

The race is expected to last between six and eight days.

Class D entry Hallelujah , owned and skippered by Sonny Fussell and the winner on corrected overall time in 1995, is also in the fleet. Fussell is co-chairman of the Race Committee at the Halifax River Yacht Club along with Jack Moran, who will be sailing to Bermuda with 41 other members of the club on the Royal Majesty .

Regardless , a 40-foot Nelson Marek class A yacht, grabbed line honours in 1995, with an elapsed time of seven days, six minutes and 20 seconds. She also won best corrected time in her class.

Race chairperson of the St. George's Dinghy and Sports Club, Verna Oatley, said that 28 boats were confirmed, including about eight that are returning from two years ago.

The largest is a Camper Nicholson 95-footer called Kitty Hawk , owned and skippered by David Sturdy. Mac Smith, one of the co-founders of the race will be sailing Quailo , a Swan 44.

Both Sturdy and Smith have sailed this race and the Bermuda One-Two race on numerous occasions. The latter race will leave Newport, Rhode Island, on June 6 and return for the double-handed leg on June 19. A total of 34 boats are entered.