Columbine 's voyage to St. David's Lighthouse to become the first-to-finish vessel in the 10th Marion to Bermuda race was plagued by the most difficult problem sailors in any race sometimes have to face.

A complete lack of wind.

For more than 16 hours the Gulf Stream proved to be the ultimate test of will -- and patience -- for skippers, navigators and crew.

But Columbine -- a Hylas 51 with Richard Leather at the helm -- was able to overcome the adverse conditions to become the first arrival in Bermuda shortly after 10.30 p.m. on Tuesday.

That made this year's race one of the slowest on record, with the finish in 1981 by Edelweiss just as long.

The blue sloop, owned by Leather since March, 1992 and considered to be the scratch boat in the fleet of 75, was making just her second voyage to Bermuda from the United States. It was, however, the first time Columbine competed in a full-blown ocean race.

The full impact of the accomplishment of crossing the finish line first still hadn't completely hit Leather, from Denver, Colorado, almost nine hours afterwards, as he enjoyed a light breakfast at the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club.

The RHADC roared to life yesterday as 74 of the boats had arrived by early last night.

Winning first overall honours on corrected time was Kemancha , a Westsail 32 skippered by Donald Porter of Stamford, Connecticut. Her corrected time of three days, 18 hours, 27 minutes and six seconds just managed to edge Wildflower , Ron Noonan's Bristol 40 by 29 minutes. Noonan was seeking his third first overall title and Wildflower 's corrected time was 3:18:56:33.

All five local boats had arrived by mid-day, with Crewcut leading the way becoming the fifth vessel to cross the finish line.

Skippered by David Marc Finnegan, Crewcut was also perched near the top of Class B late yesterday. The Sigma 41's corrected time was 4:06:33:49.

While final tabulations were still being compiled, Vivace (4:07:23:01), skippered by Colin Couper and Starr Trail (4:09:26:14), with Bob Mulderig at the helm were in the middle of the pack in Class C.

Locked in the middle of Class D was Tonka (4:04:02:40), captained by Paul Hubbard. Near the bottom of the class was Leslie Swainson's Scheherazade (4:06:57:10). As of late yesterday Tonka was 16th overall in the entire fleet.

Leather gave full credit to the people he sailed to Bermuda with -- most notably local yachtsman Francis Carter and Randy Bartholomew of Muttontown, New York, who served as watch captains during the sometimes frustrating voyage.

There was enough credit to go around for other crew members -- Larry Glenn of Locust Valley, New York; Fred Keire of Greenwich, Connecticut; Don Horton of Westport, Connecticut; Doug Ward of Darien, Connecticut and Peter Rowson of Greenport, New York.

"Well, we shouldn't stress the lack (of wind) because that was temporary,'' said Leather. "The wind coming at the start and down Buzzard's Bay was absolutely spectacular. We exited the Bay in very good condition and then we hit a wall at the Gulf Stream. Actually for 24 hours we didn't make more than a knot. We were swept well to the east without really wanting to go there and we did several 360 degree turns with no steerage way at all. Then when it finally did resume, while it was fitful, it continued to build until we had some beautiful sailing.'' Leather, who saw the race as three separate trips, also had a titanic battle on his hands with Veritas , a Custom 46 skippered by Phillip Hutchison of Harwood, Maryland.

"We never quite could be sure whether there was some other vessels over the horizon and, indeed, as we were within perhaps 45 or 50 miles of the finish we did see Veritas ahead of us to leeward and climbing,'' said Leather. "She was very hot on the wind. We had to grind her down which took quite an effort.'' Columbine completed the voyage on a corrected time of four days, seven hours, five minutes and 55 seconds.

"Frankly I think there really was three races,'' said Leather. "And each of them will be memorable. The race down Buzzard's Bay to the Gulf Stream I think was a real thrash. Then there was the race in the stream and to the resumption of wind which was a test of one's patience. And then the race from there on was to try to win it. That was only 300 miles with all the handicaps. The fleet was entirely bunched.'' Added Leather: "I learned with a Francis Carter and Randy Bartholomew on board that the boat can be balanced and driven very hard in any weight or wind. It was an education for me. I thought I knew the boat intimately but in many respects I did not. It was really Francis and Randy who showed what she can do.'' Leather, sporting a freshly-cropped white beard, walked the grounds hugging his daughter Ann.

"I started this beard perhaps three weeks ago for the race because I wanted to feel salty,'' he said. "I had to have some way to outrank my crew members which I couldn't do with my experience or native authority so I just thought I'd look a helluva lot older.''