in common.

Both took the helm of someone else's boat in the 41st biennial sailing of the Newport-Bermuda Race, when ended this week.

While Cooper co-skippered Temptress with Dr. Robert Shulman of Barrington, Rhode Island, Couper and his almost entirely Bermudian crew made the trip chartering Brigadoon VI .

It's an unbeatable arrangement for the two well-known Island sailors: Experiencing the strategy and competition of the Atlantic without the often prohibitive costs associated with a race of this magnitude.

"It's not an easy thing to do,'' Couper said. "There are very few good boats available for charter.'' How did he do it? "Just sort by word of mouth, really,'' he said. "It was very fortuitous.'' The arrangement, put together by Newport broker Hank Halstead, only took place a little more than a month ago and came about when Brigadoon 's owners determined they wouldn't be able to make the race.

They took a look at the CVs of Cooper and his 10-man crew and the deal was set.

Actually Couper, who also chartered Quadrille in the 1996 race, got lucky twice because Brigadoon VI , majority owned by Perry Harris and two other Americans, happens to be one of the faster boats in her class.

That, he says, is the main reason he chose a charter over his own boat, Vivace .

"All you have to do is walk around and see some of these magnificent vessels,'' said Couper, sweeping an arm across Newport Harbor. "It's a highly competitive sport. We just wanted to be a little more competitive.'' Vivace is a 38-foot Sabre, now 13 years old; Brigadoon VI is a 45-foot Frers built nine years ago.

This was Couper's seventh Newport Race and fourth in a row. He's also had a veteran crew which has done 55 of the races between them.

Couper's navigator was his sailing partner of seven years, David Lewis. The other crew consists of two father-son combos -- Steve and Somers Kempe and Jimmy and James Burnett-Herkes -- one brother act -- Doug and Jesse DeCouto -- plus Bobby Oatley, Jonathan Brewin and Michael Smith.

But while they all have experience, they didn't have experience aboard Brigadoon VI . They only sailed her for the first time on the Tuesday before the race, got in another few hours the next afternoon and took her out again the final time on Thursday.

Couper had another charter, Quadrille in the 1996 race.

As for Cooper, he's playing more of the game by joining forces with Shulman aboard Temptress for a second time.

The new 51-foot Swan is actually reincarnated from the previous Temptress , which the pair sailed in 1996.

That boat won the Cruiser/Racer Division (IMS 7) with an elapsed time of 94 hours, 55 minutes and ten seconds and a corrected time of 58:26:03.

Ironically, the old Temptress , another Swan but seven feet smaller, is still around, purchased by William Kardash, who is sailed her under her new name of Ugly Duckling in the 1998 Newport-Bermuda Race.

Only one Bermuda resident -- cook Malcolm Wilson -- is sailing with the Cooper/Shulman duo. Other crew are navigator Nick Nicholson, Geoff Wilson, James (Ace) Bailey, John Brooks, Cam Crocker, Dave Crocker, Ian Mackechnie Jack Slattery and Brian Taboada.

They were one of 38 boats to take part in the first two races of the Onion Patch series -- outings marred by squalls powered by 40-knot winds.

The Cooper/Kardash combination proved a winning one again when Temptress sailed to the Sir Thomas Lipton Memorial Trophy as Class Five winner.

DR. COLIN COUPER