Blythe Walker was the toast of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club yesterday afternoon. And for good reason.

The 38-year-old Bermudian skipper entered yesterday?s final series of King Edward VII Gold Cup preliminaries with a two and three record needing to win his final two flights, and then rely on Australian Torvar Mirsky to defeat Portugal?s Alvaro Marinho in order to advance to the next round.

And he would not be denied.

Walker capitalised on great starts in shifty conditions to defeat Mirsky and then female compatriot Paula Lewin in his final two Group B preliminary round robin flights in Hamilton Harbour to set up a quarter-final showdown today with Finland?s Staffan Lindberg, currently ranked 12th in the world of match racing.

?It feels good! The team came together today and did what we had to do and then hoped the other cards fell into place because it all wasn?t in our hands,? Walker told

?A couple of guys had to win their races as well to help us out. But the stars seemed to be aligned and we made it through.?

And with three days of racing remaining in the 58th edition of the Gold Cup, the hopes of an entire Island now rest upon the shoulders of Walker and his crew of Adam Barboza, Somers Kempe and Carla Cooper.

The skipper, however, admitted the task of qualifying for the KO phase of the prestigious regatta was not easy.

?We definitely felt the pressure going into today. We had a pep talk this morning, and basically said there?s not much room for mistakes,? Walker said.

?So we pulled our game together and improved our communication, and it paid off.?

Near perfect starts at the line provided Walker and crew with the early momentum. And not once did the local favourite look back.

?We were in the right place at the right time, so to speak,? the skipper added. ?There wasn?t really much time to think, it was a quick morning. The winds were out of the south and so you really had to watch the water and course and come up with a game plan and stick to it.

?And I think where we won it today was on our starts, which was a huge leap.?

Walker finished Group B in a three-way tie with Great Britain?s Ian Williams and Switzerland?s Eric Monnin with a four and three record.

However, the Bermudian advanced to the last eight via the head-to-head tiebreak method, and received an extra half-a-point to secure third place group honours after Monnin was penalised for swapping paint with a rival on the course.

Frenchman Mathieu Richard claimed Group B honours, while Great Britain?s Ian Williams finished second and Monnin fourth to also advance to the quarter-finals.

Walker won the first flight against Mirsky convincingly, but, as expected, compatriot Lewin proved to be a tougher proposition.

?Paula gave us a little more of a challenge,? he said. ?She was chomping at our heels the whole way round.

?But they are both great competitors and so we knew they were both going to be tough.?

Walker admitted having to oust Lewin out of the regatta proved to be a bitter/sweet experience.

?Paula and I have raced against each other many times, and it?s always a good competition,? he added. ?But when it comes down to it that?s just the nature of the game. And I was actually surprised we were both in the same group which was a little bitter/sweet because I?d much rather have met her in the semi finals.

?But we have great races and a great friendship as well. And we?d rather have a good race that?s fair than someone giving up.?

Having done his part, Walker then had to rely on Mirsky to defeat Marinho in the day?s final flight to advance.

?There were races still going on and the outcome of them determined whether we were going to go through,? he said.

?But when we assessed that the situation looked like it was in our favour, we were cheering on the guys to win.?

Lewin (two and five), meanwhile, took defeat all in her stride during yesterday?s post-race press conference at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.

The Olympic skipper chalked up a win in her first race yesterday against Marinho, but could find no answer for Walker in the second.

However, she did manage to find the silver lining in an otherwise dark cloud.

?The two races we did win were probably the most exciting races of our lives. So that?s what we?re taking away from the event,? said Lewin, who holds the distinction of leading the first all-female team through the qualifying rounds of the Gold Cup.

Defending champ Spithill clinched Group A convincingly with a six and one record after reeling off four straight wins yesterday.

Others advancing from Group A were Finland?s Linberg, Sweden?s Bjorn Hansen and Britain?s Chris Law.

The day?s biggest disappointment was the elimination of top Danish contender Jes Gram -Hansen who, like Lewin, finished two and five.

Yesterday saw racing interrupted by late afternoon 30 knot squalls that resulted in an hour-long delay.

Racing resumes today in Hamilton Harbour at 9 a.m.