anywhere for her next big regatta.

The tickets -- for Lewin and her crew of sister Peta, Leatrice Roman and Carol Newman -- were courtesy of American Airlines, first prize for winning the Women's International Match Race Championships in Marblehead, Massachusetts, on Friday.

But with the Bermuda Gold Cup coming up in two weeks, the tickets will be set aside until they actually need them, say in six months when the four head to the inaugural Women's World Match Racing Championship in Dubai.

With five countries represented, last week's event was one of the best attended women's match racing regattas. But until they all meet in the Middle East in March for the first official women's global regatta, Lewin and others have to depend on the periodic world rankings to determine who's number one.

"We'll definitely move up,'' said Lewin, whose victories last week came over the two skippers ranked ahead of her in the world rankings, American Betsy Alison and Germany's Nadine Stagenwainer.

Lewin posted a 13-3 record against eight other boats to finish on top in the double-round robin, then defeated Dru Slattery 2-0 in the best-of-five semi-finals and Stagenwainer 2-0 in the final.

Alison, ranked just ahead of Lewin heading into the competition, finished fourth.

"The races were great,'' said Lewin. "They were very, very close and we were never very far ahead.'' The week-long regatta used Sonar-class boats, as opposed to the traditional J-22s. A little heavier, with less sail, the boats are "very similar'' to J-22s and didn't effect race preparation or tactics, Lewin said.

It was also a reunion of sorts, with Newman joining the Lewins and Roman for the first time since April. Paula Lewin said that she and the crew -- "all really good sailors'' -- quickly fell into place, helped by a day to practise last Monday.

"We had all the weapons,'' she said.

Ironically, another prize for winning the regatta was entry in the $60,000 Bermuda Gold Cup. But Lewin already has one of those, earned by virtue of a second-place finish in the national championships in August, and will compete under the banner Team Black Seal, along with Adam Barboza.

Peter Bromby, who beat Lewin in the nationals, had already secured sponsorships so Gosling's extended their offer to include the third-place finisher, Barboza.

Teams from 11 countries will compete, including top professionals such Russell Coutts, Peter Gilmour and Ed Baird, currently ranked one through three on the World Match Race rankings. Lewin was ranked 48th overall in the world prior to the Marblehead meet.

This week, Lewin is watching with interest the start of the famous Whitbread Around the World Yacht Race.

It was this past April that she flew to Sweden for three days of try-outs as one of four alternates on the all-female crew aboard EF Education , led by French woman Christine Guillou.

Lewin was beaten out for the spot by a sailor from New Zealand and one from South Africa. "They were both experienced sailing big boats whereas I grew up on little boats here,'' she said. "It's a huge difference.'' Last word on EF Education yesterday was that she sat in ninth place, less than four minutes behind the lead boats, Merit Cup of Monaco and Chessie Racing of the US.

Watching the results, Lewin said she had "no regrets'' at missing out.

"Had I made it, I would've missed the opportunity to do a lot of racing I've been doing and I've had a great year.''