Rudy Bailey failed in a bid for a second successive and third overall North American Comet Championship in Maryland.

Instead the seasoned Comet skipper and American crew Emily Rogers had to settle for eighth place among a fleet of 22 this time around competing in the wake of hurricane Dennis which passed through the US eastern seaboard just prior to the start of last month?s international regatta.

Sailing on a modified triangular race course ? shortened as a result of unsettled weather conditions ? the Bermudian skipper managed four top ten finishes, his worst finish (13th) coming in the first of five races which was later discarded.

?These were not your typical race conditions. We had thunder and lightening and over four inches of rain sailing on the back end of hurricane Dennis. So conditions were very unsettled,? the West End Sail Boat Club stalwart explained.

?I am a bit disappointed I didn?t get the back-to-back wins because I was beaten by the elements more than by my rivals.?

Adding insult to injury, Bailey?s American crew Rogers fractured her ankle following the regatta and will now miss next month?s Comet International Championships in Maryland where the Bermudian skipper hopes for a better showing.

Another local now residing in the US, Fred Bullford, will team up with Bailey next month.

Bullford was Bailey?s crew when he clinched a hat-trick of Edward Cross Cups between 1986 and 1988 aboard

Bailey is the current Long Distance champion, having successfully defended his crown during last June?s trek from Somerset to St.George?s ? his ninth Edward Cross Cup overall.

He added: ?Overall I feel pretty good. We sailed extremely fast and smart and I?m certain that under normal weather conditions I could have easily won that regatta ? but they were not normal.?

Having won the last two Long Distance Races ? the class?s crown jewel ? Bailey can become the first skipper since the late Alton Millett to win the regatta three times on the trot on more than one occasion.

Millett achieved the feat twice, from 1960 to to 1963 and again from 1965 to 1967.

The late East End skipper remains the only sailor in the dinghy class to win the coveted cup four years in succession sailing ? now helmed by Bailey?s arch-rival Stevie Dickinson.