race will be only his second at the helm of his own boat.

Dill skippered his 48-foot Cheoy Lee Clipper Dilligh tful to a mid-fleet position in the Cruising Division in 1990, and is looking to improve on that performance this time around.

With him on board will be three members of his 1990 crew -- his wife Bitten, Tony Jones, and Bill Adcock.

Adcock's daughter Shevaun will also be joining him for the 600-mile voyage as will Dill's nephew Matthew. Completing the picture will be John Gardner and American Jay Dwight.

Dill, who raced with Kirk Cooper in the previous Alphida , also crewed and navigated for his father on board Donchery in numerous Newport-Bermuda Races.

Dillightful only made her debut in the race two years ago, when organisers introduced a cruising class.

"She's very much a family boat,'' said Dill, who bought the boat 12 years ago and uses her mainly for pleasure cruising.

A veteran sailor, in his time Dill has raced Dinghies, IODs, Solings and Etchells. But there is something special about making an ocean crossing.

"I enjoy the atmosphere of the race and the challenge of getting through the Gulf Stream,'' he said.

Dill will be one of a trio of Bermudian representatives in this year's Newport-Bermuda Race which gets underway on June 19.

Eldon Trimingham's Escape , and Colin Couper's Vivace are the only other local challengers in the 38th biennial event, which has been hit by the worldwide recession.

A total of just over 120 boats have entered next month's race, compared to the 149 that lined up for the start in 1990.

But, despite the reduced size of the fleet, the quality of the competition will ensure that the Newport-Bermuda Race continues to be the premier ocean race of the year for East Coast sailors.

Boats in the Cruising Division, including Dillightful and Escape , will compete for the Royal Mail Trophy.

Vivace , meanwhile, will compete in the highly-competitive Racing Division for the prestigious St David's Lighthouse Trophy.

Competition is expected to be intense as two Maxis -- the 81-foot Boomerang which was first to finish in 1990, and the 82-foot Congere -- challenge for line honours with the ultralight Santa Cruz 70 Maxi Donnybrook , formerly named Starlight Express , which finished second in 1990.

The 69-footer Arcadia will defend her first place on corrected time in Class A against the Maxis and the boats which came in second and third behind her last time around. The 73-foot Encore and the 62-foot Merrythought will both be bidding to get ahead of Arcadia this year.

NICHOLAS DILL -- On course for Newport-Bermuda.