The battle for supremacy in the Melges 32 class at the Quantum Key West 2014 regatta in Florida has come down to the wire with local skipper Alec Cutler within striking distance of glory.

The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club sailor, who is at the helm of Hedgehog, trails leader Dalton DeVos and Delta by a solitary point with one race remaining in the ten-race series.

With his bid for glory hanging in the balance, Cutler will have no margin for error going into the final race.

“It is real simple; if we win the race tomorrow we win the regatta and if we do not it gets more complicated,” he said. “If we do not win, we have to put a boat between us.

Cutler entered yesterday’s racing with a two-point advantage over DeVos, but saw the lead slip through his fingers as a few tactical errors took their toll.

“We had lots of opportunities to be better today and we were not fantastic,” he admitted. “But we kept in there and we know what we need to do tomorrow.”

Cutler had two seconds and a third yesterday but was unable to prevent DeVos, who recorded two firsts and a second, from snatching the lead away from him.

With better fortune, Cutler and his team-mates could have clinched the series with a day to spare.

“It was disappointing not to finish it off today, which we had opportunities to do,” he said. “But even though we did not finish things up today our fate is in our hands.”

Cutler, who has three victories under his belt this week, is already guaranteed a place on the podium as mathematically he can finish no lower than second on the leaderboard.

In third, a further 13 points adrift of the leader, is Helly Hansen Inga from Sweden, helmed by Richard Goransson.

Meanwhile, also flying Bermuda’s banner in Florida is Chuck Millican. The Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club skipper, who is sailing with compatriot Carola Cooper aboard Elusive in the J-70 class, slipped one place to 37th after posting finishes of 35th, 37th and 31st.

American Tim Healy holds a commanding lead in Helley Hansen with four races remaining in the largest fleet at the regatta, followed by compatriot Brian Keane aboard Savasana and Ian Atkins, of Britain, on Boats.com.