Veteran Comet sailor Stevie Dickinson fired an early warning across the bows of his sailing rivals yesterday.

Competing in shifty 12 to 15 knot wind, Dickinson and crew Ty Trott obliterated the rest of the fleet. The self proclaimed king of the `white water' posted four consecutive bullets to lay claim to the Mid Winter Regatta held in the Great Sound.

Left and high and dry over the course of last week's Bacardi International Race Week, Dickinson showed no signs of rust from a recent lay-off.

Defending Long Distance Race champion and Dickinson's arch rival, Rudy Bailey, placed second and veteran Howard Lee third.

"Ty and I had a real good day today. We had good boat speed and four great starts," said Dickinson afterwards. "At times it was shifty but I don't mind because I like 18 to 20 knots breezes. Mind you . . . I am getting a little bit better in the lighter stuff. The more physical I get in a boat the better."

Dickinson, like his opposite number Bailey, is already focused on next month's coveted Long Distance Race which will see competitors sailing from Somerset to St.George's this year.

"Anybody can win the June race. It all depends on the conditions and stuff like that. If it's light and very shifty, then anyone can win it," said Dickinson.

"But I will take that day as it comes. And if it's meant for me . . . then I will take it."

Despite getting off to a rocky start during the first race in which he placed sixth, it didn't take long for Bailey and crewmember Quinton Simons to rediscover their form. The veteran West End Sail Boat sailor bounced back to record three consecutive seconds to place second overall.

"I had a very lousy start. Thanks to my watches or some sort of timing error I got lousy starts," he lamented.

If bad starts cast a grey shadow on the Bailey's afternoon, being swept by Dickinson on his home waters must have been a really bitter pill to swallow.

"He's a good sailor, I'm a good sailor and it just means we have to put our heads together and hopefully we can come back on top," Bailey added.

Meanwhile Lee, the granddad of the fleet, showed no signs of slowing down. The former Olympic sailor chalked up four successive thirds to place third overall. He also proved to be one tough cookie to catch sailing downwind.

"I had my grandson Makal (Evans) with me today and he did a splendid job handling the jib and putting the poles up and stuff," said Lee.

"As a team we worked pretty good together, but I did make a few errors.

"The wind was pretty steady and whoever got out in front or second and third were able to hold their positions for that reason. It wasn't very shifty at all. It was steady wind. But I am very pleased in that we were able to hang in there to the extent that we did to make a respectable finish."

Yesterday's regatta had its share of high seas drama as Mid Atlantic Boat Club duo Ellsworth Lovell and George Hayward both saw their day come to a premature end. Lovell broke the stay wire onboard his boat Bumby, while Hayward capsized in Mai Lucy as he approached the leeward mark in spectacular fashion.