An exhausted Willy White and his crew pulled Port Royal one and a half points clear of Victory in the Coronation Cup standings after three gruelling fitted dinghy races in Mangrove Bay on Sunday.

All the clubs and syndicates had agreed to sail a make-up race following a controversial cancellation during the last race day in St George's.

With number three rigs battoned down, the races began at noon, in very gusty and heavy seas.

At the end of two races, veteran skipper Michael Oatley had actually pulled Victory ahead by a quarter of a point with two first place finishes. Port Royal was second in both and White, a chartered accountant, must have been crunching the numbers all day. He knew from the start that he could not afford too many mistakes against the experienced Oatley. There was also the threat from Elizabeth and Contest, who were also not far behind in the overall standings.

White's crew however never let him down, pushing the envelope all the way and at one point almost overtook Victory in the last beat to weather in the first race after initially falling far behind. Port Royal finally snatched first place ahead of Victory in the third and last race of the day.

Although much the of day's racing was close, it was clear that Elizabeth, Challenger and Contest were all struggling to keep up with the leaders in the difficult conditions. All three sank at one point during the day.

Contest's skipper Martin Mello went for broke in the first race by hoisting the larger number two rig. Although his crew struggled to keep the boat under control, at many times it seemed like Mello's brave call would pay off.

A jammed leeward backstay, however, would put an end to that and Contest's chances of a bid for the Coronation Cup this year.

A big gust drove Elizabeth's bow to the bottom on the leeward leg of the second race and Challenger's young crew sank in the second and third races.

Without the much needed weight on the windward rail, Challenger struggled hard on the long thrashes up Mangrove Bay. Nevertheless, veteran skipper Paul Fisher showed how much experience counted when he took the main sheet on the final race. At one point Challenger led the fleet by a substantial margin for three legs before being pushed under the waves by a big gust.

It promises to be an exciting close finish to the fitted dinghy season with two race days left on the sailing schedule. The Jubilee Cup, one of the oldest match racing trophies in the world, will also be sailed for between the St George's and Hamilton dinghy clubs. Given Victory's recent form, one would have to give her a slight edge in this fiercely contested race, which is to some, more important than the overall Coronation Cup.