Mother Nature wreaked havoc on the opening day of Bacardi International Race Week as winds in excess of 30 knots forced event organisers to scrap yesterday's racing in the Great Sound.

Competitors in all of the classes were left high and dry on the dock at Royal Bermuda Yacht Club as officials decided not to risk serious damage to both limb and craft.

The international regatta will now officially get underway this morning (11 a.m.) in the Great Sound - weather permitting.

"It's a beautiful but windy day and we would have had some great sailing out on the Great Sound. But something somewhere would have broken," explained RBYC commodore Les Crane yesterday.

"We don't have any good replacement boats should one break a mast or boom and the fellows on the IODs (International One Design) would have risked almost certain breakdowns."

Race Week organisers will now use Wednesday's `spare day' to compensate for yesterday's cancellation.

Inaugurated by the RBYC in 1952, Race Week has become an established international yachting fixture each spring, attracting top skippers from around the globe.

All classes with an active racing programme in Bermuda are invited to take part and each class is then responsible for sending out invitations.

This year's regatta again features top skippers from the US, Canada, UK, Norway, Cayman Islands and Bermuda.

Again up for grabs are the KF Trimingham Silver Trophy (Etchells), the Vrengen Gold Cup, Bermuda Race Week Championship `A' and Norwegian Series `B' (IOD), the Gripper Trophy (J-24's), BW Walker Memorial Trophy (J-105's) and two individual International Race Week Trophies for the 505 class and Laser class.

Due to dwindling numbers, both the Comet and Snipes classes withdrew this year.

Bermuda's Peter Bromby is the defending Etchells champion, John Thompson the reigning J-105 champion while Malcolm Smith (Lasers) and Chuck Millican (505's) are also back to defend their respective titles.

Meanwhile, a new champion will be crowned in the IOD class as last year's American winners Bruce Dyson and Charles Van Voorhuis both failed to qualify for this year's regatta.

Today's forecast has called for southwesterly winds ranging from ten to 15 knots, later decreasing to variable five knot breezes.