PONCE, Puerto Rico -- Bermuda went agonisingly close to a second swimming medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games last night.

Geri Mewett, coming off a sensational 52.75 in his 100 metres freestyle heat in the morning, finished fourth in the final -- missing out on a medal by a mere sixteen-hundredths of a second.

It was a repeat of the disapointment for Jenny Smatt in the 200 metres breaststroke final the day before when she placed fourth after recording a time in the heats that ultimately would have been good enough for a medal.

Mewett clocked 53.10 in the final and his place on the podium was taken by Oscar Sotelo of Mexico (52.94). Venezuela Francisco Sanchez won the gold in 50.24 with Ricardo Busquets of Puerto Rico second in 50.64.

Bermuda's Stephen Fahy was seventh in his heat in 57.25 and did not qualify for the final.

The Islands' best hopes for a medal amongst the sailors could rest with Peter Bromby, Glen Astwood and Stevie Dickinson.

Bromby, in the J24 class and Astwood in the Hobie 16, are holding their own after two days of competition at the Marina Puerto Del Ray in the coastal town of Fajardo.

Dickinson, one of just four skippers in the Snipe class, which begins tomorrow, stands a very good chance of getting into the top three.

While Bermuda's other sailors -- which also include Jay Kempe and his wife Jackie Stevenson in the Hobie 16 and Malcolm Smith and Brett Wright in the Lasers -- battle the rough waters off Puerto Rico's east coast, Dickinson and his crew Heath Foggo are left to await the arrival of Dickinson's boat.

That class has been delayed because only two Snipes are ready for participation, one less than the minimum required to start the class. The latest news being relayed to Dickinson was that his boat, and that of the skipper from the Bahamas, was due to arrive late last night and would be on the dock today. It seems likely that this class will have its number of races reduced because of time lost.

"The Bahamian's boat is on top of mine, they're being trailed together,'' Dickinson explained yesterday.

Dickinson will also be sailing against skippers from the host country Puerto Rico and Cuba and admits his chances for a medal are good.

"If we sail consistently I think we have a very good chance,'' he said.

"This has made me hungrier, waiting around. I will be just excited to get out there under any conditions.'' One or two of the other Bermuda skippers might be more than happy to change position with Dickinson, who did get a taste of what awaits him by going out on a practice run with Kempe on Friday as Kempe awaited the arrival of his wife.

Yesterday, the pair pulled out of their second Hobie race after heavy seas proved too much. Like Astwood, Kempe is racing the Hobie for the first time.

Not surprisingly, he compared it with the Tornado, with which he is more familiar.

"I think I would prefer to race a more technical boat,'' Kempe admitted.

"Even though it's a small toy compared to the Tornado it doesn't have the high performance that the Tornado has.'' Because Kempe and Stevenson did not meet the minimum combined weight of 285, they were forced to put 22 pounds of weight on the boat. "Quitting is not our style, but I think it was a wise move today,'' Kempe stated.

"We decided not to destroy the boat and ourselves on a day that was pretty wild. They were predicting 10-15 mile an hour winds, but today it was 15-20 most of the time. The wind is blowing on our sails and we don't have the weight to hold it (boat) down.'' To make things worse, Stevenson has been overcome with a bout of sea sickness in her first major regatta. "They were the worst swells I've ever been in.'' However, while Kempe had trouble adjusting, Astwood and crew Damian Payne are settling in quite nicely -- despite capsizing yesterday.

"We blew it today when we capsized on the first windward mark,'' said Astwood, who added a seventh-place showing to his third on the first day.

There are 10 boats in the class.

Astwood was in fourth place when he capsized, but national sailing coach Chuck Millican thinks Astwood could still get the bronze.

"If he can stay afloat he should finish in the top three,'' said Millican.

"I expect him to be in the top three. The Puerto Ricans will be first and second.'' Yesterday the Puerto Ricans were first, second and third and the day before they were first, second and fourth.

"I never sailed one of these boats before I got here so this is our practice and regatta all in one,'' said Astwood.

After a fifth-place showing on Sunday and a sixth yesterday, Bromby is still in the hunt in the 16-boat class, provided he can come to terms with the rough seas.

"The seas are pretty tough to sail, but I don't mind the wind,'' the world IOD champion said. "We should have been spending more time on South Shore because you'll never get that kind of seas in the (Great) Sound.

"Where they catch us is downwind. All the guys around here are good downwind sailors. They can adapt more to the heavy seas. We're only two races into the regatta and there's five more to come. We've been starting well, so that's a good sign.'' Bromby's crew is Lee White, Buddy Rego, Steven King and Dennis Correia.

Bermuda's two Laser competitors, Smith and Wright, had eighth and 11th-place finishes to go with ninth and 12th on the first day. There are 19 boats in the class.

"The breeze for the Laser sailors is just a little too heavy,'' said Millican.

All the classes except the Snipes will have a rest day on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the men's and women's hockey teams suffered their second losses, the women losing 2-0 to Jamaica on Sunday night and the men suffering an 11-0 hammering at the hands of Cuba yesterday.

SILVER HEAVEN -- Bermuda's Chris Flook, right, pictured on his way to second place in the 100 metres breaststroke final on Saturday behind Mario Gonsalez of Cuba. Below: Flook receives his silver medal from Alexander Chapman, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee and an executive officer of the CAC Games committee. Looking on is gold medallist Gonsalez and Puerto Rican Todd Torres, who won the bronze. Pictures: Lawrence Trott.