Nicole nipped Temptress in Friday's Anniversary Regatta, leading the Tred Avon Team to the Onion Patch Series title.

Skipper Tau duPont, of Easton, Maryland, was exuberant in victory, surrounded by a rowdy crew from Nicole , his vintage Cal 40 sailboat.

He had edged out Bermuda's own favourite Kirk Cooper in Temptress by a single point in the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (RBYC) Anniversary Regatta sailed on Friday in the Great Sound to win first in fleet.

Forty-five yachts competed in the regatta and of these, 41 sailed the event as the final two races of the International Onion Patch Series.

Nicole's victory, aided by a third place from Tred Avon Yacht Club Onion Patch team-mates Restless , skippered by Eric Crawford, and a 12th place finish by Ariel (James Thompson), led the team to the series triumph.

Restless had earlier won Class Eight in the Newport to Bermuda Race portion of the series. The five-race Onion Patch series consisted of two New York Yacht Club hosted races in Newport, Rhode Island two weeks ago, the race to Bermuda and the final two events in Bermuda.

After RBYC commodore Tom Miller and Nancy Gosling had presented the trophies for the regatta, duPont stood bubbling with pride.

"We had a definite purpose at the start of this regatta,'' said duPont as he hugged the double-handed silver RBYC Anniversary Regatta NYYC Trophy for first in fleet. "We needed to put our DNS (did not start) in the second race of the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta behind us.

"We set out to prove ourselves again here in Bermuda. The crew and the boat came through.'' In the two races, Nicole took a first and a second in fleet, while Temptress took a third and first. Third in fleet, with seven points, was Restless , a Rhodes 41.

Nicole had taken seventh in the first race of the series, but did not start within the 15 minute limit to cross the line because the wind had died and the current was foul.

She placed 20th in the 41-boat Onion Patch fleet during the Bermuda Race and but for the DNS, Nicole would be at the top of the Onion Patch fleet ranking.

Friday saw a pair of windward-leeward races sailed back to back in the Sound, with the first being over 10.8 miles, containing seven windward-leeward legs in 8-10 knot winds.

Alexia , a maxi owned by Alberto Roemmers of Argentina, was first to finish, completing the course in one hour, 35 minutes, 30 seconds, a feat she repeated over a 7.4 mile five-legged course the next time out.

Nevertheless, Temptress and Cooper still walked away with the consolation of the Henry B. duPont Trophy as the top individual yacht in the Onion Patch Series with 14.85 points, coming from fifth, first, fourth, third and first place finishes, as the 22-year-old classic sailed flawlessly through the series.

"We knew Temptress was fast and we just tried to get ahead and stay between the competition and the finish line,'' said Cooper. "Our victory and performance level comes from excellent boat preparation and a crew that has sailed together on quite a few regattas. Team work and a good boat are hard to beat.'' Meanwhile, class winners in the Anniversary Regatta were each awarded Gosling's crystal decanters.

Honours went to Blue Yankee (Bob Towse) in Class One, Sedons Leonard Hubbard) in Class Two, Conspiracy (George Hinman) in Class Three, Temptress in Class Four and Nicole .