For years he and Peter Bromby were rival skippers in Bermuda waters but in 2001 Martin Siese adopted that familiar adage: "If you can't beat them, join them."

That's just what he did - joined Bromby's international campaign as a crewman and now, just two years later, finds himself with two Bacardi Cup victories to his name.

"I think that's been my good fortune in terms of timing more than anything else. This sort of success has been just around the corner for Peter for so long and I have just been lucky to step in at the time that he is hitting it.

"I think with any crew of at least a certain standard, Peter will do really well," said Siese, who won the event as a novice with Bromby in 2001 and again last Friday in Miami, Florida.

Shifting from skippering to crewing as well as a change in vessel to the Star Class - Bromby's speciality - from Bermuda Fitted Dinghies and International One Designs (IODs) has been a challenge for Siese. He reckons his experience as a skipper gives him an advantage, though.

"It's different to be at the front of the boat instead of down in the back but Peter is a good skipper to sail with.

"He is very clear in what he wants happening and (he's) good at giving you information on what's going on and what he sees developing. It's helpful for me to be a crew having been a skipper as well. I can understand a bit better what he's thinking and maybe then be in the right place and pulling the lines at the right time because of that," explained the 38-year-old.

As crew, Siese's responsibilities range from trimming the jib to keeping the backstays (which stop the mast from falling forward) set properly and feeding information to the skipper.

"Steering these boats is very intense. Peter has to watch the waves and trim the mainsail so he doesn't have a lot of time to look around at the competition or look for wind shifts.

"It's my job to let him know where our main competition is all the time - relative to us - so we can protect a lead if we have to or to attack if we're behind. I also let him know what our speed is relative to the boats around us because that can give information to change the trim of the boat," said Siese.

Another aspect of crewing finds him leaning into the water - hanging on to the boat by a harness - as they sail upwind. This is in an effort to try and keep the vessel flat because in low winds the mainsail's weight and size can cause the boat to lean.

"It's common knowledge that the boat that stays flat will go faster upwind than those that are keeled over a bit," he said.

Reflecting on how much things have changed in the two years since he spread his sailing wings, Siese recalled his touch of nerves at the 2001 Bacardi Cup as opposed to last week when it was just another regatta.

"Two years ago when I first went to it (the Bacardi Cup) I was absolutely awe-struck to be sitting around a table chatting with old guys who I'd only ever read about in sailing. But you keep going out there and you realise they are just the same as us.

"The more I have sailed with Peter the more I realise how good he really is. That brings a lot of self-belief to the team and we're confident now that we can sail against any of these guys. I think Peter has had that confidence for quite a while but it's something that's newly-gained for myself."

The general manager of Windward Supplies in Warwick termed last week's success "a great week sailing among the best in the world", noting their triumph on the final day was due to sound tactics and, of course, some luck.

"The British team - it was theirs to lose and it just happened that they had a bad last race," surmised Siese of what befell world champion Iain Percy who seemed headed for the title before finishing in the pack in Friday's sixth race.

"We weren't looking to win each race or gamble right off the start line. We were looking to get good finishes.

"In a fleet this size (112 boats) you can take some gambles to try and win a particular race but if that gamble goes wrong you can very quickly end up in the 50s or 60s. Over the six races you are allowed to drop your worst result and only count your five best results, so if you have one bad result it doesn't matter. Once you get two or more of those you're not going to win the regatta.

The Bermudians' plan was to start well and "play up the middle of the course and get a feel for the race course each day as to which was the favoured way to go".

"We never really hit one side hard and hoped for the best. We played it a bit conservatively. We had confidence in our speed and ability that if we only got to the mark in say about 20th place we could chip away and overtake quite a few of those 20 boats before the end of the race."

A string of six top-ten finishes throughout the week-long competition underlined how well their plan worked.

Siese will join Bromby in at least three other Grade One regattas this year, including the World Championships in Cadiz, Spain. He and Lee White - who took fourth place in the Star Class with Bromby in the last Olympics - will share crewing duties on the international calendar because neither of them can afford to be away from work for every event.

However, next year Bromby must make an agonising choice between his sailing partners and friends - which one will he take to the Athens Olympics?

Siese would love to go but he is philosophical about the decision.

"Hopefully it's going to be a very tough choice. Lee has already proven himself as a very good Star crew. I've had a couple good regattas with Peter but I don't think I have necessarily proven myself to the extent that Lee has but I am hoping I've got a year to get to Lee's standard and make it a very hard choice for him (Bromby).

"It's something we've talked about quite a bit. One of us will not be going but the way I look at it is that it's about Team Bermuda trying to get a medal. If that means that I sit on the bench then I'll still consider myself part of the team that won the medal, though I might not actually have my own medal."