The hidden stash of rum came out as crossed the finish line on Monday ? and the dark 'n' stormy celebration proved to be the right one as the Trans Pac 52 was yesterday awarded the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Trophy.

Roger Sturgeon's IMS Racer came home in a corrected time of 59 hours 44 minutes and 12 seconds on Monday morning to take home the coveted race boat prize.

After a day of nervously waiting for other boats to arrive, the destination of the trophy was confirmed yesterday much to the delight of Sturgeon, competing in his first Newport-Bermuda Race.

"It's wonderful," declared Sturgeon, who had maintained a 'dry' boat throughout the race but brought out the "medicinal" rum once his crew had completed the 635-mile ocean crossing.

"This was my first time, and one race, one trophy isn't bad going. It has been a lifelong dream to compete in this race, the Bermuda race really is a fabulous event."headed off mid-afternoon yesterday back to Newport, Rhode Island but Sturgeon is remaining on the Island to enjoy the prize-giving and the "Island's famous hospitality".

"It was an intensely tactical race," declared the proud Californian.

"It was all about good preparation, clever sailing, sharp use of the wind and sharp use of the Gulf Stream. All the Trans Pac 52s have similar capabilities and we really had to sail smart to make sure we beat the opposition.

"At roll call every day we got the positions of the other boats and we had to try and work out what they were up to and what they were going for.

"It was a real team effort ? they are a great crew and it is good to have won this."

The destination of the St. David's Trophy ? awarded to the fastest IMS Cruiser/racer on corrected time ? remained uncertain last night with smaller boats owed huge rafts of time still at sea but closing in.

But the favourite appears to be , Dominick Porco's Swan 45.

Her corrected time of 69 hours, 50 minutes and 35 seconds puts her in prime position, although vessels such as and in Class One still have a chance even though they are not expected in until later today.navigator Bud Darr put her performance down to a complex east, west, east, east attitude to the Rum Line that saw her creatively make the most of the conditions during the 44th instalment of the 98-year-old race.

This was followed by a spurt in the final day of racing.

"In the last 24 hours, we pretty much abandoned the watches, sat on the rail and everyone just got stuck in to make sure we got the most out of the conditions," he said.

Around 40 boats had finished by late afternoon yesterday at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club with the docks filling up with an impressive, but increasingly small, selection of craft.

The bars were packed with delighted families, race officials and crew, swapping stories of the crossing which revolved around the same theme ? a much calmer race than last time.

With the 2002 event featuring four reported men overboard ? and apparently at least five more ? this year's event has been a relative delight for many of the skippers, although the light air has led to slower finishing times as well as some time-related withdrawals.