Paula Lewin's stay at the top of the women's world match race sailing rankings was a shortlived one.

But you can expect the Bermudian skipper and her crew to reclaim the top spot by next week.

For what is believed to be a first for Island sailing, Lewin's name topped the ISAF's list when the Omega match race rankings were released on November 25.

But she had been dropped back to number two yesterday, which, ironically, was the day she and crew members Peta Lewin and Leatrice Roman left for a regatta in St. Petersburg, Florida, and an attempt at moving back in front.

Paula Lewin wasn't even aware the threesome had slipped back to number two; in fact, she had just learned of the previous rankings, which had placed her ahead of the all the world's top women match racers, including Americans Hannah Swett and Courtenay Becker-Day and Sweden's Helena Strang.

"I'm very happy but not it's not a huge shock,'' she said of the number one posting.

This week, however, she had been overtaken by Germany's Nadine Stegenwalner, by a total of 14 points -- a negligible amount when you consider Lewin's current point total is 4,515 through just eight events.

Ranked number two earlier in the season, she, her sister Peta, and Roman moved to the front on the basis of a strong showing at an invitational regatta in Marblehead, Massachusetts, in September. There, she skippered the crew's J-22 to second overall against a top international field, to go along with a half-dozen earlier top-four placings.

"It was one of those regattas we were really looking forward to,'' Lewin recalled. "But we were so burned out that we didn't even feel like going out to train. And match racing is such a mental sport that we were so relaxed we ended up sailing extremely well.'' The finish boosted Lewin to 51st overall and some 200 points ahead of the nearest woman, Strang, with Stegenwalner another 200 points behind her. But while Roman and the Lewins took the next three months off, Stegenwalner was able to add to her total.

Both she and Lewin have sailed in eight sanctioned events. Points are compiled over a two-year period and matches dropped from the total once the 24-month window expires.

The November 25 overall rankings feature two other Bermudians. Adam Barboza was 86th and Peter Bromby 90th, both through seven events. The leader was New Zealand's Russell Coutts, who won the Brut Gold Cup, held here in October.

Lewin has represented the Island in the past two Olympics, including a 14th-place showing in the Europe Dinghy class during the Atlanta Games.

"Fourteenth might not look so good but I was pretty happy with it,'' said Lewin, noting the winds off Savannah were much stronger than the ones in which she normally excels.

Europe Dinghy is a solo event and there is still an outside chance that the ISAF cold add match racing to the 2000 programme in Sydney, meaning the first Olympic opportunity for Roman and Peta Lewin.

Match racing typically takes on three crew in addition to the skipper but Lewin doesn't have a permanent fourth. Therefore she picks up a temporary alternate to work the jib with her sister (main sail) and Roman (foredeck), depending on the regatta.

PAULA LEWIN -- hoping to move back on top of the world match racing rankings after a regatta in Florida this week.