dinghy racing season.

Graced with the presence of Governor Thorold Masefield Port Royal allayed the rainy conditions, seizing control of the first race for the prestigious Heritage Trophy, going on to win ahead of Victory , with Elizabeth third.

The second race saw a change in fortunes, with Elizabeth taking line honours followed by Victory and Port Royal .

Winds escalated during the third and final outing, with only Port Royal and Contest showing the skills in handling the enhanced atmospheric conditions.

Contest got the better of the two-boat battle at the end for the win.

The skipper and crew of Port Royal were left with the widest grins though as they topped the Coronation Cup standings with 12.25 points, ahead of Elizabeth and Contest , both at 9.25.

It's all over but for the party, as all six contestants in the Charleston-Bermuda Yacht Race found their way across the finish line.

And while Grinns Richard Orchard's Andrew 68 seized great notoriety for smashing the record for the fastest crossing to Bermuda it was Teamwork that won out in the end.

Grinns made it to Bermuda in 75 hours, 41 minutes, three seconds, 19:16.36 faster than the time recorded by Norm Dalley aboard Pursuit , but this was not enough to steal the top prize away from Robin Team and his crew.

Team, who crossed in an elapsed time of 95:29.05, won based on a corrected of 65:41.42. He was followed by Ted Turner Jr's., Troika , a Condor 40, who was corrected to 69:19.43.

Third was JHenry , co-owned by Hank Hofford and Susan Ford, in 71:37.09, followed by Grinns and Aubrey Vaughan's Wind Vane (85:04.32).

Tico Time finally made it to Bermuda early yesterday morning, however had already announced her withdrawal.

Warwick (Rick) Hennigar, co-organiser along with David Browder, hailed the safe passage of the boats, but noted some dismay at the small numbers involved.

"I feel that we have the sub-road all laid down, but I just feel that we have to get it paved,'' said Hennigar. "I was a little disappointed with the number of entries, I had 14 that backed out within the last two months because of economic reasons, so we are striving to keep it going.

"We have confidence that with some reorganisation we will be able to improve the product.'' Hennigar noted, however, how the race had, since 1999, raised more than $48,000 in aid of the Society of Research for Children with Leukemia and Lymphoma.

FAIRYTALE FINISH FOR GRIMM? TEN Fairytale finish for Grimm? The finals of the Craig Bean Memorial Junior Open are set with several intriguing contests lined up at Port Royal.

The Boys Under 12 final will see a battle evolve between top seed Kris Frick and giant-killer Larson Grimm.

Frick also is set to be involved in the Under 14 final after overcoming second seed Kyle Williams 6-2, 6-2 in the semi-finals last night. The other semi saw John Masters end the run of McKenzie Bean 6-1, 6-0.

Gavin Manders will hope to consolidate his top ranking via a win over Masters in the 18 and Under bracket.

Meanwhile, Ashley Brooks confirmed herself as the top young female with a 6-0, 6-0 triumph against Kara Fisher in the Girls Under 14 group.

A new event at the junior level, mixed doubles, should provide plenty of entertainment for tennis fans, with the likes of Fed Cup player Sasha Fisher teaming up with Frick and leading junior Jovan Whitter linking with Morgan Lightbourne.

The finals commence each day at 11.30 a.m.