International Race Week when he claimed victory in the International One Design (IOD) "A'' series yesterday.

Five time world champion Shore delighted with his consistency throughout the first three days and also benefited from some timely good fortune.

Protests from the day previous severely altered the order of finish in race three, as Peter Bromby and Scott McLeod were both disqualified by the race committee. Prior to the ruling Bromby stood first, while McLeod was fourth overall and the result caused them to slip to fourth and fifth respectively.

Still it was a time for Shore to rejoice in his victory and prepare for the "B'' series, which starts today.

"The boat we drew for today I don't think was the fastest boat,'' said a jubilant Shore. "But we had a lot of wind shifts to play with and were able to sail a shorter distance to the weather mark and get there sooner by utilising the shifts.

"I think that we weren't very lucky with the shifts in the first couple days.

But we had enough patience to wait until it changed and we got more of the kind of shifts in which we do well today...and it was just enough.'' The result also snapped a streak of near misses for Shore.

Where the veteran yachtsman had fallen short at several previous regattas, he was finally able to overcome Bromby, a frequent nemesis.

Said Shore: "This regatta is a lot of fun and I think that winning this series means a lot, because when you look at all the series I've sailed in, in 15 of them I've finished second and I think in all of those Peter's finished first, so this is the first time I've beaten him and that's a real thrill.'' Not nearly as successful was the team skippered by Ken Drewry, which although second overall, suffered through a miserable day where their tactics failed them.

Their first blunder occurred in the fourth race, where they chose the wrong line when well in front and were overhauled by both McLeod and Bromby.

Drewry would eventually wind up seventh in that race. But the nightmare continued in the next, as they were left at the outset and never recovered, placing fifth.

Third overall went to George Peckham, who finished with a fourth and third in the two individual races.

The musical chairs game continued among the Etchells fleet, with Bermuda's Tim Patton taking his turn in stepping to the fore.

Patton finally exhibited the sort of dominance that has kept him atop the local fleet racing circuit and was able to outduel the Americans, who had had their way in prior outings.

Bermuda occupied three of the top five spots, with Dennis Correia fourth and Allan Williams fifth. In second and third were Robert Kinney and David Jones, both of the United States.

The situation for first overall now sees Patton tied with the split skippering crew of Henry Khyl and Randy Bartholomew.

"We found a little extra boat speed that we'd been lacking and we decided that we were going to sail straight up the middle and play the shifts and that's what we did and it paid off,'' said Patton. "We managed to get to the first weather mark in first place and after that it was little easier to extend the lead, because the rest of the fleet was fighting amongst themselves and that helped us out a lot.

"There's a lot of sailors of very similar calibre here and we're in for some exciting races the rest of the week.

"I think keeping your nose clean and sailing a smart regatta is going to win it.'' John Alofsin (J24s) and Glen Astwood (Tornados) had their winning streaks halted, as the competition began to heat up.

Brit Hughes claimed first place in the lone race for the J24s, with Geoff Moore second, while Nick Duffy and Larry Rosenfield each registered victories among the Tornados.

Local Stevie Dickinson trails Peter Commente by seven and a quarter points in the Snipes class with just two races left.

Meanwhile, veteran Comet sailor Howard Lee took over the leadership from Rudy Bailey after a pair of firsts yesterday.

Adam Barboza now stands first ahead of James Jacob in the Lasers.

The final group sees Harry League with a stranglehold on the Sunfish leadership, with Alan Scharfe second.

TOP BILL-ING -- American Bill Shore and his crew captured the International One Design (IOD) `A' Series yesterday, thanks to consistent yachting and timely wind shifts.