ERROR RG P11 22.10.1998 Y CORRECTION: Yesterday's report referred incorrectly to a member of Paula Lewin's crew as Lisa Beashal when it should have been Lisa Neasham.

Paula Lewin and her all-woman crew produced a magnificent day's sailing yesterday to qualify for the Bermuda Gold Cup championship round for the first time.

Lewin won three of her remaining four flights, including her first one against Island friend and rival Peter Bromby, to advance from a tight Group One which went right down to the wire.

Bromby, 2-1 after the first day, had, by contrast, a dreadful morning, losing three of his flights and failing to advance from the qualifying rounds for the first time.

The results mean Bermuda will have two competitors in the first championship round -- Lewin and Glenn Astwood, who qualified on Monday.

Lewin will take on world number four Gavin Brady. The ever-improving New Zealander warmed up for the clash by taking first place -- and the accompanying $3,000 cheque -- in yesterday's Bermuda Commercial Bank Challenge.

Astwood, meanwhile, takes on England's world number two Chris Law.

Ironically, Lewin, who recently ascended to number one in the women's match-racing rankings, puts some of her recent success down to the help she has received from Bromby, who flew up to Marblehead in Massachusetts to coach her team in advance of their win there.

And while she was quick to acknowledge that his input had helped her in their head-to-head yesterday, she admitted she felt no sympathy over his failure to qualify.

She said of their race: "It was up and down. We stayed pretty close all the way round. Going up the last leg we tacked out to the right and Peter was covering us. It was sketchy the wind today and he saw a breeze out on the left and tacked for it and that never panned out. So it was his mistake.

"I think that the subtle things he taught us up in Marblehead we applied to this event. In this type of racing you may win a start but it's really hard to hold on to that and we're now beginning to be able to do that.

"So his tips certainly helped us in our approach and how to handle it mentally. "But it's not just Peter's influence. We took on Lisa (Beashal) last year and so we've had a solid team for a year now and that's the biggest thing. We're also a year more experienced. "But no way do I feel sorry for him. It's our turn. It came down to our race, but it didn't have to.'' In fact, the win over Bromby only brought Lewin up to 2-2, with plenty of work still to be done. A victory in her next flight against teenage Aussie James Spithill put her 3-2 up. But at that point, with two flights to go, four sailors were tied on three wins, while Italian Francesco de Angelis, who ultimately went through unbeaten, was well out in front.

Defeat followed against Canada's Peter Hall in the penultimate race before Lewin kept Britain's Ian Williams at bay to book her passage to the championship round at the third time of asking.

Lewin, a cool customer, claimed there had been no nerves going into the decisive race.

"We were relaxed,'' she said. "We didn't get flustered, we just said `let's go out and do what we can'.'' Of her pairing with Brady, she said: "I raced him in our group last year and he won but it's a year later, so who knows.'' Brady himself was counting no chickens. "We've seen her a few times and there's a reason why she's ranked number 19 in the world.'' Lewin, meanwhile, was basking in the glory of becoming the first woman to advance from the Gold Cup qualifiers in the event's 50-year history.

"We're so proud. We're thrilled to all be Bermudian and all women and doing so well.

"And we'd love to go another step. You never count yourself out.'' Other fascinating pairings in today's competition see four-time Gold Cup winner Russell Coutts take on his Team New Zealand training partner Dean Barker, who advanced with a 5-2 record.

Reigning champion and world number one Peter Gilmour, who had a disastrous time of it in the Bermuda Commercial Bank Challenge yesterday, losing to Brady, Coutts and Cutler, takes on Spithill.

Spithill, a 19-year-old from Sydney, who has risen to 63 on the world rankings, was not fazed by the task ahead of him. "It should be pretty easy,'' he joked. "It's pretty much already on the paper.'' MIXED FORTUNES -- Bermuda's Peter Bromby (above) might have been smiling after Monday's races were called off due to a lack of wind but it was local rival Paula Lewin (below) who had the last laugh yesterday. Lewin and her all-female crew helped eliminate Bromby, then became the first women to advance to the Gold Cup championship.