Paul Cayard is anxious to set the record straight this time around and show the locals why he is currently ranked sixth on the Omega World Match Race Rankings list.

The 33-year-old father of two was on the Island just two days in 1991 before he was sent packing by fellow countryman Kevin Mahaney, who beat him 3-1 in a shock first round upset, and is wary of falling into that trap again.

"All I have to do is think about last year,'' said Cayard, who beat Robert Fry of Japan in Tuesday's first round. "I got beat by an unseed last year, the top sailor out of the unseeds, Mahaney, who went to the Olympics for the US (United States) and won a silver medal.

"I was here and gone in 48 hours last year. You really have to be very sharp especially in this kind of stuff (conditions) here, it's real shifty and anything can happen.'' Since that loss Cayard has gone on to bigger and better things climaxed this past May by his skippering Italy's Il Moro de Venezia during the America's Cup finals which he lost to Bill Koch aboard Americ 3 .

Cayard had received prior America's Cup experience in 1982 and '83 as a member of the Liberty crew, which lost in the defender finals, and was tapped to head the Italian challenge by corporate magnate Raul Gardini, whom he met while working in San Diego for sail company called North Sails.

"I think he liked the fact that I was young and I wasn't as well known as say Dennis Conner,'' said Cayard, who in 1982 made the trans-atlantic crossing to Bermuda in the Newport-Bermuda race. "I was the skipper for Gardini in 1985 and I hadn't even won a world championship yet. I was skippering his boat, the Il Moro II , in Europe.

"I also think he felt that with me being young he could have an effect on how I was going to turn out, whereas if he would hire a guy like Dennis Conner or somebody else...yes they were good, but he's just going to get who they are. I was 25 years-old and he liked the aspect that he could influence me.'' Great fruits have been borne through this relationship that has seen Cayard go from just another good match racer to Paul Cayard, one of the worlds best allround sailors.

Said Cayard of his meteoric rise in the sport: "It has to do with a certain amount of talent and a certain amount of opportunities. You get lucky in that you get in the right place at the right time. I got a lot of help from Tom Blackaller and then I had Gardini on my side. He helped me by giving me the opportunity of the boats like the America's Cup challenge and all that.

"Basically at the top of any sport there's about 10 or 15 people that are fairly even on skill and some guys put themselves in a position where they get the good equipment, the good boat, the good support. They have a better chance than the poor guy who doesn't have that.'' Since the America's Cup campaign Cayard has sailed a few regattas in Europe, he competed at the European Championships in the IOR Class -- 50 foot boats similar to those that race Newport to Bermuda -- winding up third.

He was also fifth at the Mazda World Championships of Match Racing back in August behind Russell Coutts, that man Mahaney again, Peter Gilmour and Chris Dickson. Dickson and Coutts are likewise in Bermuda for the Omega Gold Cup.

Finally just last Saturday he was third at the Star World Championships.

An affinity for the sport was developed early in Cayard's youth when at the age of eight a school friend took him sailing.

His dad, Frenchman Pierre Cayard, a built him his first craft in his garage, a Pram...and, as they say, a star was born.

Growth in the sport saw him capture his first trophy for placing second in a regional championship in 1970 at nine and win the North American championship at 15. He credits these formative years with speeding up his progress and allowing him to be competitive on the world stage.

"I grew up sailing a one-man boat where I had to do everything myself, trim the sails, steer the boat and decide whether to go right or left so at a very early age I was used to making those decisions.'' He graduated from the University of San Francisco in 1981 but was already a member of the San Francisco Yacht Club with which John Bertrand and John Kostecki were also associated. Kostecki in fact is a part of Cayard's crew for this current regatta along with regular crewman Steve Erickson and Josh Belske.

However, Cayard, who was already 6ft 2ins at 15-years-old, was not entirely one dimensional in his athletic pursuits as he played centre while representing his elementary and high schools in basketball. He also dabbled in snow skiing.

Cayard left the sport briefly to pursue other interests but soon returned to his main love, sailing.

Said Cayard: "I guess one thing is it is a sport I know well, I understand all the tactics about it.

"I was offered a job outside sailing and I went there and checked it out, but I found I really missed the water and the wind and the boats that have really become a crucial part of my life.'' The America's Cup is still his main goal, but he said it is more important for him to remain competitive and maintain a level of excellence.

"I guess the America's Cup is still foremost. We got pretty close last time and obviously it would be a good thing to win and get that over with, and then if I have a chance one day to go to the Olympics.

"But the overriding goal is to do some more successful campaigns, even if it's not the America's Cup, if it's the Omega Cup...to just do well and try to keep being successful.'' Dickson, Coutts and a host of others are vying for that one spot at the head of the standings and Cayard, who faces fellow American Ed Baird in today's quarter-finals, feels he has just a good shot at walking away with the $30,000 first prize.

"I think we've got as good a chance as anybody. I don't really care about the conditions.

TOP GUN -- Paul Cayard (inset) and in action, racing Il Moro (bottom) against Ville de Paris in the America Cup Qualifiers in April.