Bermuda's Peter Bromby drew first blood from the seeded skippers competing at this week's $100,000 Brut Gold Cup as he sailed to victory during yesterday's Bermuda Commercial Bank Challenge in Hamilton Harbour.

The local skipper, at number eight the lowest of the seeded skippers in the Gold Cup, emerged $3,000 richer after holding off a challenge from Peter Holmberg of the US Virgin Islands in the winner-take-all final match.

Seemingly trapped at the start by Holmberg after being forced beyond the buoy on the left side of start line, the Bermudian caught a break when Holmberg crossed prematurely and had to turn back.

From there Bromby proceeded to move ahead and adequately cover his rival upwind while extending on each of the three downwind legs. In the end he won easily, much to the delight of his vociferous supporters gathered dockside.

Earlier Bromby had emerged atop Group One during the round robin phase with a 2-1 (won-loss) record after defeating world number one ranked match racer and top seed Russell Coutts of New Zealand as well as Great Britain's Chris Law (fourth seed), while losing his first outing to Frenchman Thierry Pepponet (fifth).

Holmberg, the sixth seed, likewise produced a 2-1 record by downing the likes of Germany's Markus Wieser (seventh) and defending champion Peter Gilmour (third) of Australia, before losing to American Ed Baird (second).

In the race for third and a $1,000 prize, Law (2-1) was able to triumph over Wieser (2-1) while Gilmour (1-2) downed Coutts (1-2) to claim the $600 fifth place prize and Baird (1-2) bettered Peponnet in the race for seventh, which carried a $400 purse.

Meanwhile, Coutts, the undisputed favourite to win the Gold Cup, caused a stir among organisers of the regatta by his late arrival yesterday afternoon, having missed an early flight from New York to Bermuda on Monday and being unable to secure a place on the later evening flight.

Word was that Coutts had gone to the wrong airport -- La Guardia instead of John F. Kennedy -- although organisers did not confirm such reports.

The reigning world champion and winner of the four previous events in the Brut by Faberge Sailing Series finally arrived in time for the third flight of the round robin, but failed to win a match in three outings.

The Kiwi today faces friendly rival Murray Jones, his fellow countryman and sometime team-mate, in the first round of the championship which will involve a best-of-five race series (Hamilton Harbour, 9 a.m.) Other pairings have Bromby taking on Germany's Jochen Schumann, the top qualifier, Peponnet battling Per Petterson of Sweden, Law facing Bermuda's Glenn Astwood, Gilmour entertaining the challenge of Russian Andrey Nikolaev, Holmberg against Henrik Lundberg of Finland, Wieser sailing against the third Bermudian, Adam Barboza, and Baird taking on another Swede Johan Peterson.

Bermuda's young sailors are set for a treat with Sweden's former two-time Optimist World Champion Johan Peterson having been secured to give a free lecture tomorrow.

The lecture will take place at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, starting at 5 p.m.

Peterson won the first of two consecutive World Championships at the age of 13 and went on to finish in the top 10 during the World Championships of both the Europe Class Dinghy and the OK Dinghy.

A match racer for the first time this year, Peterson has climbed in the rankings from 231 to his current 78 and is viewed as a contender for the Omega Achievement Award before the end of the year.

PETER BROMBY -- $3,000 richer after yesterday's win.