Ricky Sousa and his navigator Scott Johnson were first to cross the finish line at Ferry Reach to claim victory in the closely-contested Bermuda Powerboat Association (BPBA) Round the Island Race yesterday.

For driver Sousa, it was his first victory in the annual race in his S-class boat at his second attempt.

The RMS Construction boss completed the 46-mile circumnavigation of the Island in 36 minutes, 41 seconds, just 22 seconds outside Andy Stoneham's race record.

But for organisers, the result was of secondary importance in a race dedicated to the memory of Stuart Smith, a navigator who died in an horrific crash in last year's race.

Although three of the nine boats taking part failed to finish, there was no repeat of last year's horror in near-perfect conditions.

Sousa said after his triumph: "I feel great. Our strategy worked very well. We got a good jump out of the start and we were gaining time all the way.

"We knew we had the fastest boat. We knew it would be a bit of a struggle going down the South Shore and if we kept it together then, then we should have no problems and we managed to do that.

"Scott did a great job. I turn the wheel, but he has to keep his eye on everything else.

"What happened last year had a significant impact on us. We had a minute's silence for Stuart. I hope that in the future we can get the numbers back up for this race."

For a large portion of the race it looked as if Clive Hook could become the first A-class (less powerful boats) winner in six years.

Hook was given a 24-minute advantage in the staggered start. But he could not cling onto the lead from the faster boats quite long enough.

"We just caught him, less than a mile from the finish," said Sousa. "But we had a lot of time to make up."

In the end, Richard Correia and Jesse Furtado in their D-class craft also overhauled Hook to claim second place in 45:27.

Hook and navigator Vince Belboda had to settle for third with an elapsed time of 59:18, while the C-class machine of Stephen Bridges and Ian Bridges was fourth in 46:35.

The only other boats to finish were both D-class entries, Joey DaSilva and Scott Lopes finishing fifth in 50:17 and Darren Sousa and Stephen Boys in sixth in 56:45.

Many people's pre-race favourite was Andy Stoneham in his distinctive bright yellow S-class boat.

But he came to grief, breaking down within a few miles of the finish at a time when he was leading Sousa.

BPBA commodore Chris Roque said the race had been a success and that the tragic events of last year had been on everyone's mind.

"This race was in memory of Stuart Smith and it was awesome," said Roque. "The weather cooperated - it was close to record-breaking conditions."

Helping the organisers were volunteers from Harbour Radio and the Bermuda Regiment. And boats were on standby to get to crash scenes quickly if needed.

An eye injury to driver Aaron Sims was reported as his B-class boat broke down off Astwood Park. Roque did not know the seriousness of the injury at press time.