Comet king Stevie Dickinson clinched one of the closest Long Distance races in recent memory yesterday to capture an unprecedented 13th title overall.

Though the veteran sailor - competing with crew Ty Trott and a photo of mentor Alton Millett pasted onboard the stern of his famed Kitty Hawk - will go down in the record books as winning by a 100-yard spread over runner-up and clubmate Romano Ramirez, in truth the margin between first and second place was narrowed to within a quarter of an inch of rope.

Dickinson, like several of his rivals, suffered a broken starboard side shroud as he neared Fort St.Catherine in St.George's. Drawing on his vast sailing experience, the quick thinking sailor hastily replaced the broken fitting with some rope just in the nick of time as Ramirez began to close in near Town Cut.

Indeed, the final moments proved to be nerve wracking as the veteran could only hope the temporary rigging would hold firm as he was greeted along the shoreline by thousands of fellow St.Georgians present willing their `home boy' across the finish line - a finish made all the more challenging by a flotilla of spectator boats which spilled over onto the race course.

In the end, his luck and the rope held fast and after making a series of starboard and portside upwind tacks inside St.George's harbour, Dickinson was greeted at the finish line just off Ordnance Island by the blaring sounds of horns and calypso music emanating from the East End Mini Yacht Club.

Dickinson completed the course from Somerset to St. George's in exactly one hour and 48 minutes, Ramirez was a close second in one hour, 48 minutes and 55 seconds while veteran Howard Simmons rounded out the top three in a time of one hour 49 minutes and 27 seconds.

David Walls Sr finished fourth while James Perry narrowly beat out Gladwin Lambert and Greg Proctor at the line to seize fifth place honours. Last year's winner Rudy Bailey placed sixth.

"It's always nice to finish at home. Everybody greets you well and it's nice," commented Dickinson afterwards.

"Because the winds were so favourable and the waves were rolling towards shore, all I wanted to do was sail a straight line but still play the shore just in case the winds died. It was some good sailing out there and very fast."

However, Dickinson, who led for nearly the entire race, almost saw it all slip away close to the finish.

"At Fort St.Catherine's point, Ty (Trott) and I pulled over because the side stay let go. We went up in the lee to tie it back down in order to upright the mast. As soon as got it tied we took off again and the mast was just laying forward. So every time the wind eased we would just pull it forward and kept working at it until we got it right and just hoped that the rope wouldn't break. It was very scary because if it had broken, then my mast would've been gone," said Dickinson.

Yesterday saw sailors compete in 20 to 25 knot south-westerly breezes in four to six foot seas. Therefore, it wasn't surprising to see three boats capsize and two others towed in minus their masts.

"It was just like any other race. I have a lot of patience and sometimes that's what it takes - a lot of patience," added Dickinson, alluding to his unprecedented 13th title.

Unlike her more reserved skipper, crew Trott was simply overwhelmed after winning her first Long Distance title.

"It sure feels good!" she exclaimed. "I think that I really worked hard for it. I prefer these conditions over the light air. Light air is not forgiving. If you make a mistake then the air goes out of your sails."

Not even the occurrence of a broken stay seemed to unravel the relative newcomer.

"Probably if I was sailing with somebody else. But it was quick thinking, snap, snap and everything was done," she added. "He (Dickinson) knew what he had to do and I knew what I had to do, so I wasn't worried. It was a wonderful feeling, especially to see my family waving at me from the porch."

Satisfied with runners-up honours was a composed Ramirez.

"It was better than last year because last year I came third by about three inches," he said. "But this year I gained that three inches to come second. So next year I hope to come in first."

Also pleased with his overall performance was Simmons.

"It was a nice race and we really enjoyed it. I'm trying to work my way up because the older you get, the better you get. So I intend to keep on working my way up," he said.

Yesterday's race provided drama even before the start as Jamie Harvey collided with Wall and Scott Fox barely avoiding another collision with Colin Clarke.

Antoine Wingood became the race's first casualty when he flipped over near Messina House off Ireland Island while 2001 champion Heath Foggo capsized just west of Long Arm, Dockyard and George Hayward off Ferry Reach. Wingood battled on to make it safely to the finish.

Meanwhile, one of the pre-race favourites, Howard Lee, saw his day come to a premature end when he lost his mast off Tobacco Bay while David Wall Jr suffered the same fate just off Cable and Wireless in Devonshire.

A total of 21 boats started the race.