The penultimate day of International Race Weekend ended in frustration and protests after a dangerous squall brought an early abandonment of the afternoon?s sailing.

Strong winds and torrential rain yesterday morning caused a two-hour delay and halfway through the first race of the afternoon a drifting mark and wild conditions caused Alpha course Race Chairman Jay Hooper to abandon the race.

And all the talk as the vessels returned to the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club dock was of that decision, with some skippers unhappy with the abandonment and at least half-a-dozen official protests submitted across all the classes.

The decision to abandon, which came after just over half-an-hour of competition, came after the course had already been altered once because of a windshift.

Although some boats crossed the ?finish line?, it was not clear if they had actually completed the correct course due to the drifting mark and the changes that were made while the race was still taking place.

?I am confident it was the right decision and I stand by it 100 percent,? Hooper told after a wet and windy day on the water

?You never like to have to abandon racing for the day, it?s always a shame, but in the interests of safety it was the only decision I could make.

?When the squall came in, conditions became very dangerous and there was a point where some of the Etchells had their masts parallel with the water.

?Considering that a lot of these guys are in borrowed boats, in the interests of safety we had to abandon.

?As I understand it, there may be some protests but I maintain it was the right decision. Ultimately it is my call and I did what I believe was the best thing for all concerned.?

Despite the abandonment, the destination of one trophy was decided yesterday, with Tom Coates claiming the B.W.Walker Memorial Trophy in the J-105 class courtesy of a fantastic start to the week.

Coates, who finished second last year on his Race Week debut, took six bullets in the opening six races with his only blip a third place finish in Tuesday?s half-day of racing, a result that was dropped anyway to give him an eight point margin of victory in his class.

?I?m delighted to win this fantastic event for the first time,? said Coates, an American who celebrated his 51st birthday earlier in the week.

?It has been a strange week with the weather, I think we have had pretty much everything. Today we went from three knots, to seven, then up to 26 ? and then it got a bit crazy. But I love it like that.

?We?ve really enjoyed ourselves and I can say that we will do everything we can to return here next year ? it?s a wonderful place, and it?s my kind of sailing.?

The other three keelboat classes will be decided over the final two races today, with Bermudian Olympian Peter Bromby set to return to his Etchell as skipper after a day off spent in court.

Bromby lined up a top-class replacement in Glenn Astwood, who joked that he and Bromby had arranged for the abandonment.

?I was happy to step in and help out although obviously nothing counted in the end,? said the jovial Astwood, who seemed a little confused when he came in, like a number of other skippers, as to whether or not the day?s races had counted.

?Things were a little chaotic at times, we had trouble finding some of the ropes because only Peter knows where they are. We did okay, I think we were in fourth but as things got a little crazy with the weather we might have moved back to last, so I suppose I?m glad it didn?t count.

?At least I can say now that I have taken part in Race Week.?

Going into the final day, Bromby and crew are five points clear of American Tim Lynch.

In the International One Design (IOD) class, Jonathan Pope leads the standings by five points while American Anthony Parker is three points ahead of Bermudian Todd Olson in the J-24s.

Racing on the Bravo course today, Brett Wright and Malcolm Smith go head-to-head in the Lasers, with the two of them tied on 11 points, more than ten points clear of their nearest rival, while in the Snipes, Michael Irgens has a three point lead.