Sipping champagne and Dark ‘n’ Stormy’s at the crack of dawn is the last thing that you would expect Greek sailor George Sakellaris to be doing.

But yesterday proved to be an exception to the rule, and for good reason, as the 68-year-old captain of Shockwave basked in glory after capturing Newport Bermuda Race line honours for the first time.

“I usually do not drink this early,” an elated Sakellaris grinned. “But this is a great race to win, and it is a very, very special day.”

Silhouetted by the sunrise in the backdrop, Sakellaris’ 72-foot Mini-Maxi crossed the upwind finish line off St David’s Lighthouse at approximately 6:35am, edging out Bella Mente by seven minutes in a thrilling two-horse race for line honours that went right down to the wire.

“It was a very close race,” Sakellaris said. “They were right on our tails pushing us all the way.”

Rounding off the top three finishers across the line was another Mini-Maxi, Caol ICA R, helmed by captain John Hildebrand, that completed the 635-mile ocean race more than three hours later.

Shockwave’s victory was sweet revenge after being pipped for line honours by Bella Mente in the 2012 Newport Bermuda Race.

Picking up where they left off in the previous race, Shockwave and Bella Mente continued their fierce rivalry, swapping the lead several times as they raced towards Bermuda.

Both yachts virtually parked after sailing into holes in the Gulf Stream.

But Shockwave regained the lead for good after getting to fresh wind from the south-west and a favourable water current on the other side of the Gulf Stream first.

“The person that gets the wind first has the advantage so it was very important for us to get in and out of the Gulf Stream at the right location,” Sakellaris said.

“We got out almost exactly where we wanted to be.

“In racing the weather changes — especially with the shifts — so you have to call it right and sometimes there is a lot of luck associated with it.”

Another key to Shockwave’s success was team harmony among the crew.

“We have a great, great team,” Sakellaris said. “We had great individuals, but at the end of the day they worked great together as a team.”

Bella Mente did well to catch up with Shockwave over the closing stages of the race before ultimately coming up short.

“We sailed them down all the way over the last half and got within a mile or so but ran out of runaway,” Hap Fauth, owner and captain of Bella Mente, said.

“But everybody has their moment in the sun, and George sailed very well.”

There are three local entries in this year’s Newport Bermuda Race — Nasty Medicine, Crossfire and Spirit of Bermuda — which have yet cross the finish line.