The good news: Kris Hedges's road race bike arrived after being lost in transit last Thursday, and with it the bulk of his clothing.

The bad news: 13 athletes and officials did not.

The majority of the Island's track and field competitors and the gymnasts were stuck in Aruba overnight Tuesday after they missed the one flight of the day to Maracaibo following a delay in New York.

Hedges's bike turned up after Chef de Mission Joan Taplin contacted BOA officials in Bermuda who, in turn, put pressure on American Airlines to locate it.

Fears that it had gone to Brazil proved unfounded as it was traced to Aruba and loaded onto the Servivensa plane to Maracaibo.

Taplin, who went to the city's airport on Tuesday evening on a dual mission to collect the bike along with the scheduled athletes, was shocked this time just to find the bike.

"It arrived in solitary splendour,'' she joked yesterday. "But at least Kris has now got some more clothes. He's been operating on a wear-and-wash basis up to now.'' Triathletes Tab Fround, Kent Richardson and Kevin Tucker and track and field's Atiba Tucker and Terrance Armstrong were among those who did make it to Venezuela on schedule, arriving on the later flights from Miami.

But no sooner had Froud, Richardson and Kevin Tucker settled in to the accommodation at the Olympic Village, than they were told they would be moving to Altagracia which looks out on to Lake Maracaibo's eastern side and has better access to the water for training.

More pleasing information emerged from Club de Nautico, in Caradon, part of neighbouring Falcon state, where Brett Wright and wife Sara Lane are carrying Bermuda's challenge in the CAC Games sailing competition.

They drew brand new Laser hulls to give them a boost going into today's practise regatta, which was due to begin at 9 a.m.

The starting times are deliberately early because the wind can become very strong later in the day, effectively threatening cancellation of the competition.

On the swimming side, bad turned to worse when Tamika Williams finished last in her heat of the women's 100m butterfly yesterday.

In fact Williams, 20, had the worst time from both heats, completing in 1:14.08, more than 10 seconds behind Trinidad's Siobhan Cropper, winner of two silver medals at the last Games in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

In the short course pool of Bermuda, Williams has done a best of around 1:08 but the six-second gap between that and yesterday's time could not be explained simply in those terms, she admitted.

"It wasn't a really bad time, but it was disappointing. I've been feeling really tired since the recent meet in Barbados and I've also had a bout of tonsilitis.'' Williams will be hoping to shake off the residual fatigue for her final event tomorrow, the 50m free; a race that gives her a final chance to achieve the qualifying standard for next month's Commonwealth Games.

CYCLING CYC