Petit Papillon , one of a group of visiting sailors from Colorado, claimed Class Three and Brian Billings in Four Flags won the Cruising Class as a record fleet of 25 boats turned out for the first of the Bermuda Offshore Cruising Association fall series races on the weekend.

A total of 11 boats in the Cruising Class together with five J24s including the four entries from Colorado helped boost numbers and made for an interesting day's racing.

A light south easterly wind at the start made the task of setting a suitable course difficult with the race committee opting for a 20 nautical mile course from Hamilton Harbour to the Great Sound followed by six windward/leeward legs in Dundonald Channel, with the finish off Pearman Watlington dock.

Penny Simmons in High Energy surged into an early lead with Finnegan in close contact.

Francis Carter in Circe , meanwhile, didn't enjoy a good start but quickly worked his way up with the leaders while the remainder of the fleet struggled to find the slightest breeze to get through Two Rock Passage.

Tonka (Paul Hubbard) being smaller than the three leaders took her customary position in the middle of the fleet, but always remained a threat on corrected time and likewise Reckless (Greg Vasic) remained in contention.

Lee White in No Name , absent from the BOCA fleet for most of the season, due to his pre-Olympic commitments with Peter Bromby, was slow to get going but put in a charge on the last windward leg, too late, however, to improve his overall position.

In Class Three the regular BOCA racers had their work cut out against the competitive J24s, some of which were helmed by the visitors from Colorado.

Jim Keesling in Petit Papillon managed to hold off Reckless (Greg Vasic) after battling for the entire race and was followed by two other Colorado skippers, Don DeCosta in Gripper and Alan Dille in Tempest .

Competition was equally challenging in the Cruising Class where 11 boats sailed a slightly shorter course. Scheherezade , skippered by Leslie Swainson, led the fleet followed closely by No Regrets (Matthew Cainey) but it was Billings in Four Flags who came through to win on corrected time.

With the wind dropping some boats endured more than five hours on the water with Sweetness eventually finishing in five hours, 44 minutes, almost missing the prize presentation.

The next BOCA event will be Danish Day on Sunday, November 5. Full results, see Scoreboard