Bermuda?s only two sailors in the 58th King Edward VII Gold Cup are left with just slim chance of progressing to the knockout stages ? but one will have to beat the other today in order to make it.

Olympians Paula Lewin and Blythe Walker both experienced mixed fortunes under cloudy skies in Hamilton Harbour yesterday afternoon as the $50,000 fourth stage of the World Match Racing Tour got underway ? with Lewin finishing the day with one win and four losses and Blythe with two wins and three losses in the round-robin stage of Group B.

The Gold Cup format has changed this year with the 16 competing crews now divided into two groups of eight and only the top four advancing through to the quarter-finals which begin tomorrow.

With two matches left, Lewin ? who is the only female skipper in the Gold Cup?s 58-year history to have progressed through the qualifying rounds ? is in last place and must now win both of her remaining races, the last of which is against compatriot Walker, to have any chance.

Walker, meanwhile, is tied for sixth.

Lewin?s day got off to a poor start when she and her crew of sister Peta White, Lisa Neasham, Leatrice Roman and Diana Mitchell lost their opening flight to Englishman Ian Williams, before going down in the second to this year?s Nations Cup champion Mathieu Richard of France.

And the third flight didn?t go much better, as they lost to the Swiss skipper Eric Monnin, before securing a confidence-boosting fourth-flight win over Denmark?s Jes Gram-Hansen ? currently the second-ranked skipper in the World Match Racing Tour standings.

A fifth-flight defeat to 20-year-old Australian Torvar Mirsky ? the youngest helmsman in this year?s Gold Cup ? left Lewin with a mountain to climb, though having had limited preparation for the event this year, she was determined afterwards to keep things in perspective.

?We always come into this event expecting to qualify, so in that sense we?re disappointed with how the day went,? said Lewin, who finished fifth in the Gold Cup in 2002 and also got through the qualifying rounds in 1999 and 2003.

?We?ve been practising quite a bit in the Harbour for the last few weeks to get ready, but nothing prepares you for the intensity of competition ? particularly at this level ? and the fact that we haven?t been racing meant we started slowly and were a little bit rusty.

?It wasn?t really until the third flight that we started to feel comfortable, and we were happy to get a win under our belts in the fourth.

?Now we know it?s going to be tough. We?ve got to win the two remaining races to have any chance of getting through. We?re not overly-concerned though. We?ve been in this type of situation before and we?ll just get out there tomorrow and try to pull it off.?

The likelihood of Walker and his crew of Adam Barboza, Somers Kempe and Carola Cooper making it through today is slightly stronger with two wins under their belt over both Gram-Hansen and Richard.

But this year?s national match-racing champion knows Lewin will not lay down without a fight.

?I know how tough a competitor Paula is and she sailed very well today ? even if the results don?t necessarily reflect,? he said, adding that the birth of his second child in January has meant he?s spent very little time on the water this year.

?We?ve got a chance as well. I?ve never lost to Paula in a regatta but she?s beaten me in races so I?m sure it will be close and we?re looking forward to it.

?A two and three result from the day is alright ? obviously we would have liked to have done a little better because we started very well with two straight wins, but then the wheels really came off at the end and in the last flight we missed a few shifts which put us way behind.?

Richard tops Group B along with Williams with a four-and-one record.

Crews in Group A, meanwhile, found themselves beset by problems yesterday after the start was delayed by 20 minutes because of bad weather before lightning strikes (see story below) forced race officials to abandon proceedings after only two flights.

American Brian Angel as well as Sweden?s Bjorn Hansen are in joint first position, having won both their flights.

Defending Gold Cup champion James Spithill is tied with four others with a record of one and one.

The five remaining Group A flights are expected to get underway this afternoon, with the final two Group B flights to take place this morning.