Couper and Kirk Cooper have in common.

Both are also taking the helm of someone else's boat in the 41st biennial sailing of the Newport-Bermuda Race.

While Cooper is co-skippering Temptress with Dr. Robert Shulman, Couper and his almost entirely Bermudian crew will make the trip chartering Brigadoon VI .

It's an unbeatable arrangement for the two Island sailors: Experiencing the strategy and competition of the Atlantic without the prohibitive costs associated with a race of this size.

"It's not an easy thing to do,'' Couper said yesterday. "There are very few good boats available for charter.'' How did he do it? "Just sort of by word of mouth, really,'' he said.

The arrangement, put together by Newport broker Hank Halstead, came about when Brigadoon 's owners determined they wouldn't be able to make the race. They took a look at the CVs of Cooper and his 10-man crew and the deal was set.

Actually Couper, who also chartered Quadrille in the 1996 race, got lucky twice because Brigadoon VI , majority owned by Perry Harris and two other Americans, happens to be one of the faster boats in her class.

That, he says, is the main reason he chose a charter over his own boat, Vivace .

"All you have to do is walk around and see some of these magnificent vessels,'' said Couper, sweeping an arm across Newport Harbor. "It's a highly competitive sport. We just wanted to be more competitive.'' Vivace is a 38-foot Sabre, now 13 years old; Brigadoon VI is a 45-foot Frers built nine years ago.

This will be Couper's seventh Newport Race and fourth in a row. He's also got a veteran crew which has done 55 of the races between them. Couper's navigator is his sailing partner of seven years, David Lewis. The remainder of the crew consists of two father-son combos -- Steve and Somers Kempe and Jimmy and James Burnett-Herkes -- one brother act -- Doug and Jesse DeCouto -- plus Bobby Oatley, Jonathan Brewin and Michael Smith.

But while they all have experience, they don't have experience aboard Brigadoon VI . They only sailed her for the first time on Tuesday, got in another few hours yesterday afternoon and were hoping to take her out again for the final time today.

As for Cooper, he and Shulman got in plenty of action aboard Temptress at the weekend -- although they could have done without it.

The 51-foot Swan was one of just 38 boats to take part in the first two races of the Onion Patch series -- outings marred by squalls powered by 40-knot winds.

Only one Bermuda resident -- cook Malcolm Wilson -- is sailing with Cooper/Shulman.

The good news for Cooper was that they stand third in the IMS Class Five division. Newport-Bermuda comprises the third race of the Onion Patch with the final two on June 26 in the Great Sound.