One day shall there be famine, another there shall be a feast.

The phrase may be poorly transposed, but it illustrates perfectly the difference a day can make when the subject is the Colorcraft Gold Cup.

While Sunday saw competitors openly appealing for more breeze in Hamilton Harbour, yesterday witnessed the same begging for a more calm outlook.

Neither prayers were answered, which yesterday meant that afternoon racing had to be at first postponed until 4.00 p.m., and eventually rescheduled for today.

However, while the delay allowed for Bermuda's Adam Barboza to continue his quest to qualify for the championship round, there was no saving countryman Glenn Astwood, who was eliminated during the morning session.

Needing to win all three races to stand a chance of going through, part-timer Astwood found the class of professionals too tough to handle, losing all three and ending bottom of Group Two at 1-6.

Yet the Team Black Seal skipper, who, as a last minute instalment, had to scramble for crew, remained in good spirits, knowing that he had left it all on the water.

"It was a good regatta,'' said Astwood. "The only thing I came in here worried about was not winning any races, because the crew I have, we've never sailed together before and we came out here to have fun and enjoy ourselves.

"I was only in here because Paula (Lewin) didn't want to do it and neither did Andreas (Lewin), so I was a last minute pick and had to struggle to find crew for the regatta. What's happening is that a lot of the guys are gearing up for the America's Cup, so a lot of them here are the America's Cup crews.

This is one of the training regattas.'' If indeed it is merely training, one would hate -- or love -- to see Andy Horton get serious.

The young American skipper sailed through the morning unbeaten in three outings, while topping the list of Group One qualifiers with an overall 6-1 record.

Counted among his victims were Australia's Neville Wittey and fellow Americans Chris Larson and Dalton Bergan.

Despite the loss to Horton, Bergan too exhibited a great deal of potential to go further, posting a 5-2 record, good for second spot.

Bergan expressed delight in being able to progress, and was even more happy to have sailed in the early session when the winds, while not light, did not come close to the near gale force variety unveiled later on.

"It's definitely crazy out there, I'm glad I'm not racing this afternoon when it's supposed to get even windier,'' said Bergan at the conclusion of the morning flights. "We had a really bad wipeout where we were taking lots of water in over the side and I was pretty sketchy.

"(But) I'm really happy to be here, it's very exciting racing under super challenging conditions.'' Bergan collided with New Zealand's John Cutler at the windward mark during the last race, with the latter being slapped with a penalty for his efforts.

Much shouting ensued between the crews, but Bergan accepted this to be all a part of the game.

"Yeah, there was a lot of yelling and screaming ... it was good. That's what match racing's all about.'' Bergan will next match up against another American, Ed Baird, on Wednesday, while Horton faces five-time winner Russell Coutts.

Other match-ups see number three qualifier Neville Wittey taking on another Aussie, Peter Gilmour, and Cameron Appleton engaging Magnus Holmberg.

Kiwis Chris Dickson and Murray Jones lead group one with identical 3-1 records, followed by James Spithill (2-1) of Australia and yet another New Zealander Kelvin Harrap (2-1).

Meanwhile, today sees the eight seeded skippers get their first taste of Hamilton Harbour while racing in the Escape Challenge.

Winners at this year's National Sailing Championships are in for a treat tonight during the annual prize presentation for the Junior, Dinghy and Keelboat classes, with a bevy of superstars set to be on hand.

Defending Gold Cup champion Andy Green has been enlisted to dole out the trophies and other trinkets, with the likes of America's Cup supremos Russell Coutts and Dennis Conner also expected to take part.

The ceremonies will take place at Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, commencing at 6.30 p.m.