dash to get the girls sold on them at a special auction.

They showed how being single can produce a tingle as they were snapped up by dollar-clutching damsels.

And for one Prince Charming, Mr. Antonio Smith, who appeared this year on the Oprah Winfrey show, the night ended on a right royal note.

As the bachelor with the highest bid, $450, he scooped a round-trip plane ticket to Boston.

Another, Mr. E. Michael Jones, the United Bermuda Party candidate for St.

George's, came away on a high as well.

He earned a special prize of a flight to New York and a visit to the Phantom of the Opera.

His dapper rivals and their companions also won themselves prearranged date packages, thanks to a local company.

Saturday night's popular charity auction -- with Mr. Alan Cooper wielding the hammer -- was held by the Somers Isles Junior Chamber.

Well over 100 women packed Marriott's Castle Harbour Resort, keen to trade dollars for fellas.

The bachelors, carefully screened for suitability, paraded themselves in snappy formal and casual dress.

After the bids were cast, they handed their dates bouquets of flowers ... as any true gentleman would, of course.

"They all looked absolutely fabulous, and were so tastefully dressed,'' exclaimed chamber president Miss Lydia Perinchief yesterday.

"All sorts of combination prizes were on offer, including dinners, gym work-outs, and snorkelling and diving outings. It was all great fun.

"One or two men could be seen in the audience, but I can assure you none of them put in bids. It was strictly for women only.'' Lowest bid of the evening was $25 -- but Miss Perinchief firmly declined to name names.

She added, however, The Royal Gazette sports editor, Mr. Dexter Smith, one of those up for grabs, could be ruled out from speculation. He attracted a $65 bid.

"He fared quite respectably, and won himself a gym work-out and a dinner,'' she said.

Around half the proceeds went to the Sunshine League, the rest to the Junior Chamber.

The Sunshine League has provided a shelter for Bermuda's needy children for more than 70 years.

The first bachelor auction was held at the Palm Reefs Hotel in 1990.