Captain Cook showed great endeavour to ensure was the first Island boat to make it across the Bermuda-Newport finish line.

The Englishman led Rob Mulderig?s Farrr 72, and the crew of mostly Bermudians, home at 3.15 a.m. yesterday and was happy to admit it was a very straightforward crossing.

?The conditions were very calm and made it a smooth sail for us,? said Ian Cook, captain of after a much-needed afternoon nap yesterday.

?The breeze was very light which wasn?t ideal for her and the crew had to do a lot of work to keep her moving.

?These sort of conditions are much more favourable for the lighter boats in our class and it is a credit to the crew that we managed to get here in the speed we did.?

In 25 knot winds, managed a boat speed of 21.8 knots, one of the fastest recorded in this year?s race, and he was delighted with the performance of the boat, in her third Newport-Bermuda crossing.

?She loves moving at that speed,? said Cook, who has been with Mulderig for two-and-a-half years. ?It was nice to get up to that in a race of light winds and the odd gust, unlike 2002 when it was strong winds with the occasional light wind.

?It is like two separate races, it was all high winds and high speeds last time and this year it was much calmer. But every race has its own unique set of challenges and we did well this year.

?The mostly-Bermudian crew really added something to the boat and we all got on very well and got the job done.?

Les Crane?s had not arrived by press time last night while Colin Couper ? and Governor Sir John Vereker ? aboard were expected back in the early hours.