While scores of boats failed to escape the wrath of hurricane Fabian, the Island's four fitted dinghies currently competing for the Coronation Cup were well secured and are expected to be ready for this Sunday's final round of sailing at Granaway Deep.

“The boats, as I understand, were all well secured. They were locked away in sheds and are okay. But we have got to check on the tow boats and a few other things to see whether all are available for Sunday. If it doesn't happen then the races will be held the following Sunday,” said Mike Lewis, skipper of Elizabeth, currently in second place in the standings.

“I will have to check with Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club (RHADC) who run the competition to see what actually is happening. But as far as the skippers and the boats are concerned, we are all ready for the final series.”

Leaders of the Coronation Cup series and defending champions, Contest, need only to remain consistent in order to wrap up this year's title.

The first race, the RHADC Cup, is set to get underway at 12 noon while the Victory Cup will follow at 1.30 and the final and feature race will be the Jubilee Cup at 3 p.m.

Contest skipper Somers Kempe, aware that he and his crew are being closely pursued by Elizabeth, remained optimistic of his chances of beating off all other challengers for the second year in a row.

But the two-term skipper admitted it was vital for them to “stay the course” they have maintained all season.

Going into the finale, Contest is the overall leader with 55.12 points while Elizabeth follows on 48.34. Mike Taylor's Victory lies third on 39.14 while Challenger, skippered by Michael Oatley, holds down a distant fourth on 21.

While Kempe is confident, Lewis realises that the pressure is on the second place boat which not only has to win two of the races outright, but also has to hope that Contest does badly in the third race as well. “We are confident, we have always basically throughout the season tried to keep everything consistent and we all believe that a consistent sailboat is usually the boat that comes out on top,” said long-time dinghy racer Kempe.

“Hopefully Sunday will provide a pretty good day and the hurricane will be long gone. We are looking forward to the races and repeating as winners. The Elizabeth crew are a great bunch of guys to race against and you throw the other two dinghies on the starting line and you never know what can happen.”

There have been a couple of changes to Contest's crew since last year but the skipper says that the core remains pretty much the same.

“Two out of six are new but they both have dinghy experience from past years,” said Kempe.

Lewis realises that Elizabeth is capable of winning two races but he also is aware that they could be asking a lot for a talented skipper like Kempe to not only lose out twice but do badly in the other race.

Although pleased with his performance and that of the crew in his rookie year as skipper, Lewis is looking forward to the final challenge.

“I am optimistic that we can sail well but I am not so sure how badly he will be sailing. What he does in Contest is really out of our hands, but I think we can get two wins if we sail really well,” said Lewis.

“Whatever way you look at it, the day promises to be an exciting series of racing, my crew is ready and everybody will just have to wait and see what happens.”

Elizabeth finished third with skipper Adam Powell last year when Lewis did main sheet. This is Lewis' third year with the boat.

Elizabeth has been around since 1989 and has never won the Coronation Cup, Lewis admitting that it would be “excellent” if they could pull it off this time around.

Lewis will have his regular full crew on Sunday.

The skippers will be looking for calm water with no more than 10 knots of breeze.