Bermuda's Peter Bromby and Martin Siese needed a strong final race to capture the 74th Annual Bacardi Cup Star Class regatta in Miami, Florida.

And they did so in utterly convincing fashion, winning Friday's race outright to quash any doubt who would take home the prestigious 2001 Trofeo Bacardi.

Friday was a day of firsts for the Bermudan pair: The victory was Bromby's first Bacardi Cup championship in 13 attempts. His best previous finish was in 1995, when he came in second place with crew Lee White. What was more surprising about the victory was that Bromby won the Cup with Siese, a crewman sailing in his first ever Star Class race.

"We're over the moon in the sense we never expected to win the Bacardi Cup so soon since we've been together a short time,'' said the 36-year-old Bromby, who won the race among a fleet of 80 boats, including world and Olympic champions.

"We expected to struggle,'' added Bromby.

Lack of wind gusts, which averaged six knots in the morning, delayed the last race. But after an hour and a half delay, winds picked up to an average of 12-14 knots, which were strong enough to start the final race. Earlier in the week, strong winds caused the postponement of racing and the usual six-day regatta was shortened to five races.

For Bromby and Siese, an ominous start to the regatta gave the appearance that it again would not be Bromby's year. In the first race, Bromby, who finished fourth in the 2000 Olympics, broke his outhaul, which caused the sailors to get tagged with a `did not finish' and 81st place.

But after that initial mishap, the pair showed incredible consistency, garnering a fifth, first and third place finish. Coupled with Friday's victory, the duo finished with a series-low 10 points. The next best score was turned in by Australia's Colin Beashel and David Giles, who had 20 points.

"For me, I don't believe it yet,'' said Siese, 36. "I was so out of sorts after the first day. I was thinking I didn't know what I got myself into.

"He (Peter) won in spite of his crew!'' Heading into Friday's fifth and final race, Brazil's Torben Grael and Marcelo Ferreira technically held a one-point lead over Americans Paul Cayard and Hal Haenel. But once Friday's race set sail, teams were allowed to throw out their worst finish. Grael and Ferreira, the Sydney Olympic bronze medallists, finished 73rd on Friday, knocking them down to fifth overall. Cayard, who won the '88-'89 Whitbred Round the World Race, finished in third place overall -- the highest American finisher.

"It was good to sail in the Bacardi Cup and back in the Star Class,'' Cayard said. "Bromby sailed a really good race, but we're happy with our finish.'' Despite coming in second place on Friday, defending Olympic gold medallists Mark Reynolds and Miami's Magnus Liljedahl, who won the opening race of the regatta, were too inconsistent in the three other races. Liljedahl won the Bacardi Cup in 1997 and 1998 with Reynolds and in 1996 with Vince Brun.

Reynolds, from San Diego, is a six-time Bacardi Cup champion.

"We could afford one drop, but basically we were inconsistent,'' Liljedahl said. "We had one bad, two bad, but after a third bad you can kiss it goodbye.'' Originated in Havana, Cuba in 1927, the Bacardi Cup is the only Cuban-born sporting event to survive in the United States. The regatta has been held at the Coral Reef Yacht Club since 1962.

Added Liljedahl: "Not all the time in sports do things go your way, even in sailing. I'm thrilled for Peter.'' Peter Bromby: Pulled off victory with crew Martin Siese with a first place finish in the final race of the Bacardi Cup regatta.