The crazy party atmosphere at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club was in full flow throughout yesterday as the majority of the record centennial race fleet finally reached home.

The frustrations of a light air race that doubled the finish time of some vessels meant the traditional Dark ?n? Stormies were consumed in even greater quantities than usual by thirsty crews, many of them drinking through to the morning following overnight arrivals.

All of the Bermuda boats made it home, with the largest welcome committee in place to greet Governor Sir John Vereker following noon finish.

With Lady Vereker and a media entourage waiting at the RBYC, Colin Couper?s vessel arrived home having crossed the finish line just minutes before the five-day mark.

?It certainly took longer than last time but it was a thoroughly enjoyable race shared with an exceptional crew,? said Sir John, who then joked that he had been cleaning his teeth with Savlon by mistake for the first two days because ?it is the same size and shape as toothpaste?.

?There was not a lot of breeze out there and the sea was remarkably calm at times, it resembled the rolling hills of Southern England, it looked so inviting I was tempted to go out there and stroll to the next boat ? although I didn?t.?

It was Sir John?s third ocean crossing with Couper and certainly the longest, although he still has another day to prepare for the arrival of Princess Anne, who jets in tomorrow for boat inspections and a prizegiving ceremony on a whistlestop tour of the Island.

For Couper, his ninth crossing was uncomfortably close to being his slowest.

?We had good conditions for the first 24 hours,? said Couper, who forbade Commonwealth Games athlete daughter Ashley from getting married in June because of the race ? the wedding is set for early July.

?But things did slow down considerably once we came out of the Gulf Stream. We were looking for a south-east wind to bring us in, I think everyone was, but it just didn?t happen.

?It was a little frustrating towards the end because there is nothing you can do but overall we are happy with the crossing and it is good to be back.?

Unlike the crossing of two years ago, the alternator survived the journey allowing Sir John to shave for the TV cameras before returning and some of the crew even felt clean enough to put on some garish, red Hawaiian shirts.

The first local boat home was led by former Olympian Kirk Cooper on his 24th crossing. The Farr 72 arrived just after midnight, coming into the RBYC at 4 a.m. where a crew member noted that the ?party there was still in full swing?.

Next in, some two hours later, was Steve Sherwin?s a boat that was becalmed twice on her 635-mile journey.

?I think once it was for three hours and then for four hours,? said Sherwin, who has completed the race three times, although with this particular boat for the first time.

?The first day or so was great, we made good progress, heading west and looking to take advantage of the cold eddy. Things slowed down quite a lot after that ? it certainly wasn?t a race for the big boats.?

With 218 boats in as of 5.30 p.m. yesterday, not all the prize categories have yet been filled, although the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Trophy was claimed by and under the two different scoring systems while the St. David?s Lighthouse Trophy was taken, under the ORR system, by

With 36 boats still left on the course, the stragglers should all have been in at some point overnight or at least early this morning.