It was a day when `royalty' showed their true colours.

Contest skipper Andreas Lewin and his crew, representing the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (RBYC), were crowned Bermuda's fitted dinghy champions for the second consecutive year after officially seizing the Coronation Cup yesterday.

The craft continued a season-long trend by winning the first race in Granaway Deep for the Victory Trophy -- the boat's seventh triumph in 19 races -- and placing second in the second race for the Leon D. Fox Trophy.

Contest raised her final total to 933 points, more than 18 better than second placed Challenger which ended on 75 after a dismal day that saw them fail to finish one race after capsizing and manage just fourth in the other.

A modest Lewin attributed his boat's winning the series to a total team effort, one he said was based on determination, guts and loyalty to each other.

"It's the second time for us and we were really lucky to repeat,'' said a jubilant Lewin, who last night celebrated the triumph with his crew at the club. "It looked easy, but our goal over the season was to try and finish every race no matter what and not have any breakdowns or sinkings and we were the only boat to do that.

"From the start I thought that one of the keys to winning was to finish every race, which in turn would make it tough for everybody else. We put in a solid performance and it paid off.

"There were a lot of close, good races this year and many times in difficult conditions with strong winds and it was in these where the crew work and having everyone in tune and knowing and doing their jobs made a difference.

"It was a season where it came down to crew work and experience and we were able to benefit from that.'' Lewin took particular pride in beating rival Paul Fisher, skipper of the Somerset boat Challenger , who he said had schooled him in the ways of becoming a champion back in 1993 when Lewin was still a relative neophyte in the sailing game.

But having learned and become a master in his own right, Lewin insisted that he wasn't yet ready to turn over the reins, his focus already set on 1996.

"I had such a good time this season and you can definitely expect to see me back next season,'' he said.

Yesterday's first race saw Contest surge from well back, taking the lead when Victory encountered mechanical trouble in the second leg to windward, and was never again challenged.

Port Royal was also able to take advantage of the St. George's boat's misfortune to place second in a race in which both Echo and Elizabeth were forced to retire.

The day's second outing belonged to Echo as the other Sandys Boat Club entry, piloted by Martin Siese, seized control from the very start and refused to relinquish her grip.

Contest crossed the line second followed by Port Royal , Victory and Elizabeth , as Challenger completed a miserable day with a mid-race sinking.

But while great cheers could be heard emanating from the area of RBYC there were comparable screams of joy coming from neighbours Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club (RHADC) on the tails of their boat Port Royal having captured the Jubilee Cup.

The annual battle pitting representatives from RHADC and the St. George's Dinghy and Sports Club witnessed the former's craft grabbing an early edge and then doing just enough to hold off its forlorn challenger.

In winning RHADC moved out in front in the series 41-40.

For Port Royal the triumph carried special meaning as it was their first and came on the occasion of their initial foray into the match race event.

"It feels great,'' was the simple answer given by skipper Brett Wright when asked his opinion of how things had transpired. "They gave us a tough race, but it worked out well for us.

"We had a better start and once in front we just covered until we died. The start was everything, because if they had had a similar good start then they would have done the same thing.'' Wright added that the result went a way toward soothing wounds opened by the disappointment of a third place finish in the overall Coronation Cup series and gave inspiration heading into next year.

CHAMPS AGAIN -- Andreas Lewin (centre) and his crew were again crowned kings of local fitted dinghy racing after capturing overall honours for the second consecutive year yesterday.