rankings.

Official ISAF rankings will not be released until June 9 but after her victory yesterday in the Santa Maria Cup, Lewin is expected to overtake American Betsy Allison in the world sailing pecking order.

Sailing with her regular crew of sister Peta Lewin, Leatrice Roman and Lisa Neasham, Lewin defeated Corey Sertl 2-0 in the best-of-three final in the Annapolis, Maryland, regatta.

Allison, who won the inaugural world championships in March, entered the event with an 825-point lead over Lewin in the women's rankings but finished third.

With rankings calculated over a three-year period -- weighted towards the current year -- and points awarded depending on placing as well as rankings of competitors, Lewin's total was not immediately known.

But in a sport where swings of 1,000 points are not uncommon and because she defeated someone ranked above her, Lewin will receive a bonus, meaning a probable return to the head of the pack.

Speaking from Annapolis yesterday, not even Lewin knew exactly how many points her victory was worth but did say "this is going to change things around.'' Bermuda's two-time Female Athlete of the Year, Lewin took over the world number one spot at the end of last year, becoming the first Bermudian in any sport to be ranked the world's best.

But a loss in the semi-finals of the world championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, saw her fall behind Allison. In the overall May world rankings, combining men and women, Allison is ranked 23rd -- moving up from 40 -- and Lewin 31st -- dropping from 29.

"On any given day, either one of us can beat the other,'' Lewin said ... it just comes down to karma.'' Conditions also play a role, or what Lewin calls "the luck of the wind.'' Sailing in light breezes over the first three days of competition, Lewin lost only twice in the double round-robin, once each to Sertl and Allison, to tie for first. But by the time a tie-breaker ended yesterday morning and the final began in the afternoon, gusts picked up to 18-22 knots.

"It got pretty hairy out there,'' Lewin said.

But experience prevailed and she easily won the final in two straight races, forcing Sertl into a penalty turn in the first and jumping out into a commanding lead in the second.

"In conditions like that you don't want to go crazy tacking,'' said Lewin.

"We mostly just sailed on the defensive and favoured the right side.'' Overall, Australia's Peter Gilmour -- winner of the Bermuda Gold Cup -- heads the rankings, 600 points ahead of Ed Baird. Bermuda's Peter Bromby is 77th -- a drop from 69th -- but has only raced in five events. Adam Barboza is 95th.

PAULA LEWIN -- victory at the Santa Maria Cup in Annapolis, Maryland.