At last report, American Teddy Turner was leading the fleet of 14 boats competing in this year's Charleston to Bermuda yacht race.

Turner was yesterday said to be experiencing 12-foot seas and limping along at three knots under trying conditions some 590 miles west of Bermuda.

There are no local entries in this year's fleet.

Trailing Turner's 40-foot Condor are compatriots Buddy Darby, onboard his 52-foot Hinckley Monohull, and Rex Conn competing onboard a 48-foot Newick design. In total, there were 16 boats that made it to the start line in Charleston Harbour last Saturday.

However, yesterday it was learned that three boats had since dropped out of the bi-ennial ocean crossing while two others had lost radio contact with race officials.

Ken Sawyers' Lionhearted (no head sail), Susan Ford's J-Henry (sick crewman) and John Flanagan's Sunami (mechanical failure) were all forced to abandon the race.

Mike Finn's J-160, Kativa, along with Bob Turner's 46-foot sloop, Kiva, meanwhile, are the two entries currently experiencing communication difficulties.

At this stage of the race, officials say it's to early to determine whether or not Turner remains on course to break the crossing record established in 2001 by American Rick Orchard who passed the finish line at St.David's Head onboard his 58-foot Andrews vessel in 73 hours flat.

Turner still has some 590 miles of ocean to cover and if he continues to plug along at only three knots in the Gulf Stream it's highly likely that Orchard's record will stand.

"We had a breezy start. Maybe 22 knots of wind," said Charleston to Bermuda race media relations officer Dan Dickison, who was forced to abandon the race while onboard Sunami, from Charleston yesterday.

"It was very slow going because the winds were right on the boats' noses. But as of yesterday the current leader of the race was Ted Turner and he called in to inform the race office that he was experiencing rough sea conditions.

"There were 16 boats that made the start but now three have abandoned the race while two other boats have lost radio contact."

The Charleston to Bermuda race was first run in 1997 when only six entries competed. David Sully was the inaugural winner of the 777 nautical mile crossing.

The race is open to all boats 30-feet and larger that have the required safety equipment and a demonstrated ability to sail offshore. The event is split into several divisions: Spinnaker, Non-Spinnaker, Multihulls and Classic Yachts.

All boats will be scored according to their ratings with the race utilising the seconds-per-minute handicapping system based on previous performances.

Bermuda's 2004 Olympic sailor Peter Bromby finished 11th among the Star class fleet at the 2003 Spring Championship of the Western Hemisphere held in Gull Lake, Michigan, over the weekend.

Bromby and crew Martin Siese crossed the finish line first during the opening race but were later disqualified for failing to check in with race officials prior to the start of the regatta.

However, the local pair bounced back to win the second race and place third in the third race and stake a claim to a silver medal that was eventually won by Sustronk Paul.

Howard Schiebler clinched the regatta which was contested by 46 international Star class sailors.

Bromby is now in Amsterdam, Holland, where he is gearing up to compete in the Spa Regatta which begins on Wednesday. Bermuda's female Olympian, Paula Lewin, is also expected to be competing in the Yngling Class in Amsterdam.