Minutes after Heath Foggo and his boat Split Decision wrapped up the Long Distance Comet Race title for the first time, the skipper began thinking about the huge task that lies ahead next year.

Helped by 11-time winner and record-holder Stevie Dickinson who opted to take a back seat as crew yesterday, Foggo knows a year from now that Dickinson will be back in his own boat, Kitty Hawk.

And then the 35-year-old the new champion will be on his own and facing a much stiffer challenge.

But after winning yesterday's race from west to east in a time of three hours and sixteen minutes, Foggo was determined to enjoy his moment of glory.

"Yes, next year is going to be a whole new race because Stevie will attempt to beat me," said Foggo. "It's going to be a new ball game for me because I've done most of my sailing with him, now he's going to be a competitor of mine. Wow!"

The duo sailed across the finish line some one hundred yards ahead of second-placed Byron McCallan, who had led for two thirds of the race before Split Decision went ahead as they neared St. Catherine's Fort.

Both boats had opted for virtually a straight course, neither venturing too far inshore or offshore - courses which proved unfavourable for those who chose them.

"`We had no real strategy, our goal was to have fun out there," said. Foggo. "It's my third time sailing the race and I was fortunate to have Stevie as crew. He gave me some sound advice all the way, making me pay close attention at all times. If I stayed off the wind a little too much he was quick to shout advice to me.

"When we left Dockyard my main concern was to stay focused, but I was worried when our start wasn't that good and when we were being slowed down by the wake from the motor boats. So we tacked away from them and tried to get some clear breeze by heading for spots which we knew were a little better, and then we sailed straight down on a course for St. George's."

Foggo, sailing a boat formerly named Tango, noted he and Dickinson were forced to do a lot of tacking as they closed in on McCallan. And once they caught him, they realised the race was theirs.

The winner said he wasn't bothered by the tactics of veterans such as Colin Clarke, who went offshore, or Rudy Bailey and others who headed inshore.

"Stevie was more concerned about the others," said Foggo. "I was just concerned about trying to keep the boat moving through the waves and things like that. We got McCallan just a little past the Oil Docks and once we got by him we just headed home, realising that once we got into the channel it was case closed.

"I felt confident from the start, Stevie obviously made me feel that way. I think that Stevie felt that we were in a bad position at one point, but I never worried about it. When we saw so many boats inshore off Devonshire we knew they would come out of that badly and we continued to work the boat well through the waves and head down the middle."

Careful not to steal any of the thunder from his skipper, Dickinson insisted Foggo deserved all the accolades he was getting from friends gathered near the finish line.

"We basically sailed on a straight line with the light wind, slowly but surely we made ground. But Heath sailed so well, he worked hard. There was a time when I had to take an apple from him because I felt he should have been working a little harder at the time. But I am still proud of him, it showed that the two of us are a great team,'' said Dickinson.

"We've sailed together before in Kitty Hawk, we have won the title before as a team, but for him to win in his own boat shows that he has been paying attention. I always knew that he was capable of doing it, that's for sure."

A veteran of 29 races with six seconds but yet to enjoy the sweet taste of victory, McCallan and crew Chris McCallan could do little to prevent Split Decision from making a significant gain as their rivals closed in off St. George's.

"We basically headed down from Dockyard in the middle, deciding to play the wind shifts. If the wind was in I went in and if it was off I stayed out. I had no real tactics, I knew I had to be flexible and be prepared to sail the elements and not the boats," said McCallan.

"It's a case of if you find a boat close to you, you might have to duel for a while but after that you basically have to sail the elements. I sailed a straight line and tried to make it a short as route as possible. I led after about a mile, and then lost it to Heath at St. Catherine's Point. I didn't make any ground after he passed and trailed him home by about 100 yards."

fThird was veteran Malcom Smith followed by Jamie Harvey, Colin Clarke, Rudy Bailey, Howard Lee and Gladwin Lambert.

Full official results were still unavailable last night.