Bermuda's Paula Lewin got off to an encouraging start on the opening day of the Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championships off Annapolis, Maryland, yesterday, finishing in third place after three races.

Lewin opened with a fourth and finished the day with a superb second but inbetween had to settle for a 23rd place in the second race.

In 18-20 knot winds, five-time champion Betsy Alison of Newport, Rhode Island, won the first two of the three opening races.

But then in race three, three general recalls and a black-flag elimination of Alison at the start along with other top competitors stirred the results and emotions of the 67 four-woman teams.

What was a misfortune for some, was a windfall for others, especially Karleen Dixon of Auckland, New Zealand, whose solid finishes of 2-6-4 propelled her into the overall lead with 12 points.

Mary Brigden of San Diego, California followed in second overall with 22 points on finishes of 15-4-3 while Lewin's superb final race pushed her up to third on 29 points.

The five-day, ten-race series will conclude on Friday evening with a gala Rolex Awards ceremony at Annapolis Yacht Club, hosts to the regatta, where the winning team will receive a Rolex timepiece.