On a day of drastic change one constant remained: Penny Simmons As the high winds that forced the abandonment of Tuesday's International Race Week bottomed out, local legend Simmons merely added to his lore, wrapping up yet another championship `A' series title, while positioning himself for a run at the Norwegian Series `B' and overall Vrengen Gold Cup in the International One Design (IOD) class.

Simmons recorded a first in the morning race, reading the shifts to perfection during a spectacular second, upwind leg, vaulting from third to first and taking the gun.

His four firsts and a fifth -- the latter was discarded -- gave him a remarkable three points that easily garnered the `A' series prize. Norway's Jan Petter Roed (12) wound up second, with Brian Young (153 ) third.

The afternoon outing finally saw the Bermudian beaten for the first time in four consecutive outings, yet he thrilled even in defeat as after being over the start line prematurely and forced back he majestically made his way again towards the front, overtaking all but one of the 11 boat fleet.

Proving the insurmountable object was New England resident Greg Mancusi-Ungaro, who, after placing second to Simmons earlier in the day, took full advantage of his rival's gaffe to move clear, hitting stride following an indifferent run.

"It takes a while to get the cobwebs out, the crew work today was excellent,'' said Mancusi-Ungaro, who has the like of multiple world champion Bill Widnall on board as crew, along with Laurie Fullerton, Rachel Higgins and Peter Calligani.

"We had a terrific start in the first race and in the second race we were lucky to get away from the start as cleanly as we did, there were some boats on our air early and we were able to keep our heads in the game, stay calm and keep the boat going.'' Although the victory automatically put the American in the driver's seat, he was well aware of Simmons' spectre just astern.

"It's always a challenge to race against Penny, he's very hard to beat and is especially hard to beat here in his home waters,'' continued Mancusi-Ungaro.

"He's a yardstick that we try to use to see how far we've come as we learn how to sail the boats, he's a good benchmark for us to try to challenge.'' Arguably providing the bulk of the day's entertainment value were the Etchell class boats, with mild controversy erupting during the second race when the first attempted start led to a general recall and five were called but failed to return at the second try.

Among those failing to turn back was then leader Tim Patton, who -- excluding discard result -- fell to fourth at 201 points, with United States' Robert Bell (11) taking over the lead position.

There was initial concern in the Patton camp as to whether eventual race winner Andreas Lewin (151 ) had also started prematurely, however the skipper calmly accepted the decision of the race committee.

"We were bow to bow with two other boats, it turns out two of us were over and the other one won the race, but I respect what the committee says and accept that every once in a while when you try really hard you're going to be over and I congratulate Andreas,'' said Patton, who handily won the first race over Englishman Graham Bailey and Bell and stands in prime position when discard races are factored in.

As has been the case all week, the brother tandem of Henry and Douglas Amthor outshone the competition in the super quick 505 class, the pair notching two more `bullets' on the day to move onto three points, six more than nearest rivals Ali Mellor and David Stetson (nine), while Barry Kuehl and Bruce Tilley (13) stand third.

"It's gone well, it's a very well-run regatta, the race committee is outstanding and we're really enjoying ourselves,'' said Amthor, who also has his wife and newborn child in tow.

"It's the first time we've been to Bermuda, but I think we have a little bit of an advantage because we have our own boat here, while some of the others are using borrowed boats.'' RBYC will be putting on a 1997-2000 Rules Seminar on Saturday at the club starting at 9.00 a.m. Moderators will be international judges Mike Tapert and Graeme Hayward. Cost for the seminar is $10. Reservations required.