Rudy Bailey in Temptation clinched his sixth West End Sailboat Club long distance comet race yesterday.

But second-placed Stevie Dickinson immediately lodged a protest after a tacking incident with Bailey.

Dickinson, sailing with cousin Wesley Tucker in Kitty Hawk , completed the annual race from St. George's to Somerset with his red protest flag hoisted after a near collision with Bailey off Bailey's Bay. Dickinson won on starboard and insists Bailey should have yielded at the tack.

"Rudy was coming off the land and I was going towards the land and he tacked too close to me,'' said Dickinson, who was attempting to tie Alton Millett's record of 11 long distance race victories.

"I had the right of way and I had to alter my course to avoid him. I have never heard of a protest in this race but rules are rules.

"Other than that Rudy had a lot of speed. He went more offshore and I was more inshore, hoping I would get the southwesterly breeze off the land and it just didn't work out. He got a lift out there and had a lot of speed. He sailed well, I'll give him that.'' Bailey, Dickinson's fiercest rival in this race, dismissed the protest as sour grapes.

"I'm very familiar with what he's talking about. We do exactly the same thing in club races and it's not a problem,'' said Bailey who won the race in three hours, seven minutes, 35 seconds.

Dickinson was three minutes behind in 3:10.34.

"The problem was he was so far behind,'' said Bailey.

"He is upset that he was beaten handily. He is just whining and moaning over the fact that he didn't have enough speed and his teamwork wasn't up to scratch.'' After the choppy conditions (15-20 knots out of the southwest) resulted in a few capsizes, including Monro Smith and crew Cyril Raynor in Shashu who failed to make the start, Dickinson, Bailey and Jamie Harvey were the early pacesetters along the North Shore.

Just 15 boats started the race and only 12 finished as Colin Clark and crew Tyrone Wells, Scott Fox and Peter Panchies and Antoine Wingood and Wayne Morrissey all had to pull out.

Wingood's Swizzle , after two capsizes during the race, saw a broken mast off the Oil Docks end their participation. They got to the host club with the help of a spectator boat.

"The seas were very tough and only the strongest boats survived,'' said Wingood. "This is the first time for a long time we've had a beat from St.

George's to Somerset.

"We capsized twice but we're die-hards. We were going all the way but the mast broke completely and put us out of the race.'' Dickinson had a good lead at Fort St Catherine but Bailey's decision to choose Morrissey as his crew instead of his 12-year-old daughter Danielle paid dividends as the extra weight made a big difference in the conditions.

"I was third but I was never really out of contact with them,'' said Bailey of the early stages of the race.

"I passed them between Coney Island and Bailey's Bay.

"This would be the hardest fought win. I had to come from a ways back and with a crew I don't normally race with. I would have taken my daughter if the wind was okay, but with the forecast I had to get a heavier crew and it worked out perfectly.

"Last year was the first year for her (Danielle) and she was very upset that she wasn't going to be competing today.'' Harvey and Mike Siesel sailed Gladwin Lambert's Melody to a creditable third place while Byron McCallan and Gracen McCallan in Shogun were fourth. Last year's winner, Howard Simmons and crew, nephew James Thigpen in My New Mary had to settle for sixth, 20 minutes behind the winner.

He admitted his biggest battle was with the elements once he got along the North Shore. "It is probably old age,'' the 59-year-old Simmons said of his performance.

"The higher winds favour the younger fellas who have more stamina. You are just trying to keep the boat afloat rather than outmanoeuvring the next man.

The main goal was just to finish.''