The depression hovering over Australian Bill Steele's Race Week grew even deeper yesterday as the Etchells skipper was forced to retire from both races with a broken rudder.

Steele, one of three crew rescued by race officials on Tuesday after an IOD ran into his craft and sank it, had borrowed another boat for yesterday's competition, which included one race deferred from two days ago.

But trouble with the rudder prevented him from competing in either race.

And there were further problems for the Perth-based sailor when the redress awarded to him following Tuesday's sinking was protested by a number of other skippers.

After looking at the evidence, the race jury subsequently demoted him from sixth to ninth.

However, Steele went immediately back on the offensive, seeking redress for the two races he missed yesterday, claiming that he had been given a boat which couldn't be sailed.

Race Week spokesman Talbot Wilson said: "He's hoping that he can get a place to compete today in another boat. He will probably be asking for average points; that will give him some sort of chance today.'' And so it proved, with the jury awarding him the average of his first two races in the series -- a seventh and ninth -- for yesterday's double.

Steele's dramas aside, the Etchells class was shaping up for a thrilling climax this morning with at least six competitors in with a chance of clinching the KF Trimingham Trophy in the final race.

Overnight, allowing for each crew to discard their worst race, Bermuda's Peter Bromby, skippering Scott Moore's boat, had a 41 point lead over Britain's Stephen Bailey, who finished as runner-up last year.

Andreas Lewin was a point back and sister Paula a further point behind.

American Henry Spingler, eighth in the Etchells world championships, and compatriot John Kenerson, who numbers Bermuda's Adam Barboza among his crew, were also in the running.

Leatrice Roman, crewing on Paula Lewin's boat, summed it up: "It's going to be about who gets the best start and who can hold on to the lead.

"Stephen Bailey had a handy lead in the first race today but the following four boats were fairly close, and in the second race there was little between the first four.'' Conditions yesterday were "nothing special'' she said, a relief perhaps from the winds which gusted up to 30 knots on Tuesday. There was a little breeze in the morning but it was very controllable.'' The J-24 title was captured by Briton Stuart Jardine, with Bermuda resident Jon Corless taking a creditable second.

Corless, orginally from London, and his crew of Walter Smith, Emma Atherton, Cal Lynch and Matthew Cowan, finished nine points behind Jardine, who won three of the series of eight races.

Corless, who managed three second places, said: "I was very pleased with the way the boat and the crew performed. We showed the Bermudian guys can compete with some of the top international sailors.'' Meanwhile, in the dinghy classes, Bermudian Olympic sailor Malcolm Smith was comfortably retaining his Lasers title, with Brett Wright finishing second and Christian Luthi third.

In a separate incident, Bermudian Terri Hart, crewing on an IOD skippered by Craig Davis, was struck by a boom and taken to hospital with a head injury, although it was not believed to be serious.

It's been a bad week for injuries with Bermudian husband and wife Penny and Sacha Simmons both needing hospital treatment on Tuesday. Former IOD world champion Penny sliced the back of his thumb, while Sacha needed 12 stitches for a three-inch gash to her head.

End of the day: Boston sailor Jane Codman ties up her boat after finishing seventh in the Laser class yesterday.