Bermuda's National Match Racing champion Blythe Walker faces a 1-3 deficit after completing four matches at the 2009 Argo Group Gold Cup.

With one day remaining of the round-robin elimination series before the top teams move on to compete for $100,000 in prize money, Walker's four races were extremely close impressing spectators and fellow sailors with his excellent boat handling skills.

"We sailed very well but ultimately it comes down to the starts," Walker said. "Getting a clean start gives you clear sailing and that gives you the opportunity to stay just ahead of your competitor instead of just behind.

"I think there is not much else we could have done."

Although Walker was bested in his first match by defending Gold Cup champion Johnnie Berntsson, he came back in the second match to defeat Sweden's Mathias Rahm.

In his third match, Walker won the start against Mathieu Richard of France but was narrowly passed at the top mark by his opponent.

In a neck-and-neck battle on the downwind leg, Walker was within inches of passing his Richard but ultimately could not close the distance.

In the final race of the day, Walker fought hard to pass three-time Gold Cup champion Peter Gilmour of Australia and lost the match narrowly by less than a second at the finish line.

A veteran of these waters and the International One Design boats, Walker showed sailing skills in yesterday's heavy breezes which kept him very much in the hunt throughout all four matches.

"I think our boat handling was fantastic and our final spinnaker set brought us to near victory at the finish line against Gilmour.

"It is very hard to say how close it was but it was extremely close."

For local sailing icon Paula Lewin Crews and her team, the building breeze and level of play challenged the women's team to put every bit of muscle they had into their three races today but they came up short at 0-4 overall after two days of racing.

"When it is this windy it is always tough to put the boat exactly where you want it.

"Also, the starting line was just off the breakwall and docks alongside the Princess Hotel so the wall tends to limit mobility in the challenging starting sequence," said Lewin Crews who had incurred a penalty in each race.

"The wall certainly adds a new element to the equation and makes it slightly harder to control the boat."

For mainsail trimmer Lisa Neasham, handling the large mainsail of the International One Design in the heavy breezes is one of the toughest jobs on the boat.

"Besides the penalties, I feel our starts were very good.

"We ran out of meat, though, and just didn't have enough muscle when we needed it on the race course.

"There is no question these guys out there are at a whole different level.," Lewin Crews added.

"It is a really great feeling to be out there racing against Britain's Gold Medallist Ben Ainslie and sailors of that caliber.

"All of the women I sail with are ready to embrace a challenge. That is a quality we admire in life.

"When you are thrown into the extreme conditions you have to step up. In the end, we stepped up and have done our very best."