MARION, Massachusetts -- Indications are for a fast start today as the Marion to Bermuda race officially kicks off. Southwesterly breezes of 15 to 20 knots are expected which is typical of Buzzard's Bay, at the tip of Cape Cod.

However by Sunday it is predicted that they will shift to the southeast and possibly to the northeast by Monday which could impede progress by the yachts.

"It looks to me like a fast start and a slow finish,'' said Marion communications officer Richard Healy, following a skipper's meeting last night. "If the winds stay southwest it should be a good, fast race, but if it goes southeast they may be sitting out there for awhile.'' Yesterday saw the various skippers being handed their sailing packets and were then warned by executive committee member Thomas Farquhar of the penalties for infringing the rules.

The mood among the competitors was one of tense anxiety as the last few hours ticked away. "Generally things are very positive and the captains are really psyched up,'' said former Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club commodore John Carey.

One of those ready to get out and make waves was Bermudian Leslie Swainson, owner of Scheherazade .

Swainson is set to make history as the first black to skipper his own boat in the Marion race.

"I'm ready to go,'' he said during a dinner honouring the visiting skippers.

"The boat's in good shape. She's fast and I'll be going for it. It's a cruise, but I'm a racer.'' Of the remaining seven Bermuda boats, Buddy Rego's Tsunami had some last minute work done on her mast and Nicholas Dill's Dillightful also had a few minor problems rectified.

Still the buzz centres around whether Kirk Cooper ( Alphida ) can break the record of 781 hours over 645 miles held by Warren Brown's War Baby . In 1991 Cooper was first across the line in 87 hours and 35 minutes and he will have to find some way to shave nine hours off that time if he is to reach his goal.

A key factor will be how he attacks the Gulf Stream, which at the moment appears fairly simple -- straight and narrow. But this can change rapidly and it is here where the race is usually won or lost.

"You certainly cannot overlook the Gulf Stream,'' said Carey. "What makes races from the US to Bermuda unique is that the Gulf Stream plays a major factor. You cannot be sure on any voyage what you are going to get.'' The first boats leave today starting at 1.50 p.m. Bermuda time.