Bermuda's Stevie Dickinson won the Comet International Regatta for the second time in Shrewsbury, New Jersey on the weekend when he edged out American Talbott Ingram and another Bermudian, Rudy Bailey in a scramble for the top spot.

It was a good regatta for Island sailors as Bailey placed third, four points behind Dickinson, while Howard Simmons was 10th and and Colin Clarke 18th in the 22-boat fleet.

Dickinson's triumph was all the more special as he was reunited with his former boat, Scorpion , which he sold in 1986 to Mark Beaton.

Mark Hess, who won the long distance comet race here two years ago, is the owner of Scorpion . After Dickinson told Hess he would only compete in the regatta if he could use his old boat, Hess agreed to drive it from Ohio for Dickinson to use.

Scorpion was synonymous with Dickinson's success in the long distance race, which he has won ten times. "There was a lot of gear that was in it that it didn't have when I was sailing it,'' Dickinson saidd. "He allowed me to do with it what I wanted -- without drilling holes in it.'' Dickinson and crew Scott Fox did not have the best of starts in the six-race regatta, held last Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They were ninth in the first race which Ingram won and Bailey placed third, but after winning the second and fourth race Dickinson was back in contention.

Going into the final race Dickinson and Ingram were tied on points while Bailey was in third place and still in contention.

"On the first day when Scott and I finished ninth the conditions were light so we adjusted the boat for light air,'' explained Dickinson.

"Together, Scott and I are a little too heavy for the boat. In between the first and second races we made some adjustments to the boat and it went 100 per cent faster. In that second race we led from the middle of the first leg to the rest of the race.'' Dickinson also had a fourth in the third race, third in the fifth and second in the final race, which was won by Bruce Nicholson who finished 15th overall.

However, with his throwout race being the latter, Dickinson managed to finish two points ahead of Ingram who counted two firsts, a second, fourth and fifth amongst his finishes. He threw out a 10th in the second race.

Bailey was consistent at the outset with three consecutive thirds, a fourth and a second before a ninth on the last race. "Talbott is a local sailor who has won the internationals about four times and is also a Laser champion in the US,'' said Dickinson.

Dickinson and Bailey usually have their keenest duels during the long distance race and on this occasion they fought right to the end for the top spot.

"It was a very good regatta, very competitive, especially with the top three boats,'' explained Dickinson, who has not competed in the Internationals overseas since he won it in 1989. He was second behind Hess when the event was staged here in 1992.

Hess was not a contender this year as he allowed his wife Anne Filbert to skipper the boat as he acted as crew. They finished 13th overall. "In sailing you can always count on someone having at least one bad race,'' said Dickinson. "Rudy sailed very well and we were counting on that bad race from him.'' STEVIE DICKINSON