turns her attention to something uniquely Bermudian this week.

Fitted dinghy racing, which kicks off another season on Saturday, features the usual six boats but with four different skippers.

Lewin is one of them, taking over the helm of a craft slightly different than the kind she has been used to in becoming the world's number two-ranked skipper in women's match racing.

She only solidified her standing on Sunday when she defeated Sweden's Helena Strange in the semi-finals of the Santa Maria Cup in Annapolis, Maryland.

Lewin and her crew of twin sister Peta, Leatrice Roman and Carol Newman, posted an 11-3 mark against a top fleet of international sailors through the two round robin series.

But after beating Strang, they never got a chance to meet Betsy Alison in the championship final.

"The wind died out,'' said Lewin. The race was cancelled and Alison was awarded top spot based on her 12 wins in the round-robin.

This was the first regatta of the year for Lewin and only her second overall with Newman, a native of Newport, Rhode Island, as a full-time crew member.

The four got off to a slow start in Thursday's first round robin but lost just once -- to Alison -- in Friday's second round.

"It was one of those regattas where the first day was our worst but then we got better and better and better as we went on,'' said Lewin yesterday.

Lewin said the J-22 craft used in the racing off the shore of Eastport Yacht Club were smaller than what she was accustomed to but made for "challenging'' races in what were mostly windy conditions.

"The smaller the boat, the better I do sometimes,'' she said.

The Santa Maria Cup attracted leading international skippers and is one of the top regattas in the US for women's match racing.

Match racing has few events strictly for women but that's changing, beginning with the first world championship next March in Dubai.

Lewin's sponsor from last summer's Olympics, Cat Limited, have renewed their agreement for this year, allowing Lewin some freedom for travel.

In the meantime, she faces a busy year locally, including the 11 races on the fitted dinghy calendar.

Lewin is taking over from Paul Fisher at the helm of Challenger , which finished second in the overall standings last year to Contest , skippered once again by her brother Andreas Lewin.

Lewin is not the first woman to compete in the Bermuda tradition; in fact she's been sailing the dinghies "on and off'' for the past couple of years and was at the helm of Contest briefly three years ago.

Meanwhile, veteran Bermuda sailor Malcolm Smith gets his first crack at the dinghies, moving into Elizabeth which was sailed last year by William White, who is taking over his family's boat, Port Royal .

The other newcomer is Somers Kempe aboard Echo while Alan Powell remains with Victory .

Race Committee Chairman Gary Roman reminds spectators that the season gets underway on Saturday, not on the holiday Monday. Eight years ago the traditional season opener was held on a Monday but before -- and since -- took place on May 24.

Racing begins at 11.00 a.m. in St. George's Harbour.

The small craft -- noted for their vast, out-of-proportion sails and crew -- have been raced on the Island for more than a century.

PAULA LEWIN -- from last weekend's prestigious Santa Maria Cup to this weekend's fitted dinghy season opener.