Friday under brilliant, sunny skies and choppy seas near Centreboard Shoals outside of Sippican Harbour off Buzzard's Bay. The launch was in marked contrast to the last race in 1993 when two boats collided as a result of a thick and stubborn fog. The biggest change from two years ago, however, was the size of the fleet, with only 77 boats making the journey to Bermuda, 645 miles to the southeast of Marion. This was the principal thoroughfare in the lives of the 500-plus crew members for the next several days until they reached the finish line at St. David's Lighthouse. Unless there's a drastic change in the weather forecast, skippers were likely to be facing light, westerly winds and relatively calm seas during their first few days at sea.

But conditions couldn't have been better for yesterday's start, with favourable currents to the west. Marvelled Beverly Yacht Club commodore Faith Paulsen: "What a beautiful wind.'' Five Bermuda entries were included in the six classes in the race which began shortly before 2 p.m. Bermuda time when the first gun blasted. All boats had crossed the start line in just an hour and 15 minutes. The first boat out was Kitty Hawk , a Nonsuch 33, captained by Gerrit Sanford of Swansea, Massachusetts. Sailors from Bermuda, most of them here since midweek and working at a breakneck pace trying to get their vessels ready, seemed relieved as the start time drew closer. Tonka , a Sigma 36 skippered by Paul Hubbard with Gary Venning as navigator, was competing in Class D, and this year marked the fifth time the boat has been involved in the race. Venning wasn't taking anything for granted on Friday despite what looked like ideal sailing conditions. "Getting out of Buzzard's Bay is one of the most important things for me,'' Venning said, looking relaxed, while the Tonka crew sat in companionable silence seconds before making the long trip to Bermuda. "Because if you get left behind out of the Bay you've got a lot of work to do catching up.'' Buzzard's Bay, referred to by one race organiser as an "evil place to sail'' because of shallow water, often poses the biggest stumbling block for some of the sailors. Tonka , winner three times consecutively of the Corporation of Hamilton Award, which is presented to the outstanding local boat, was one of those boats trying to exorcise the demons of the Bay. Venning, who steered the boat to a magnificent start on Friday, was particularly attentive during Thursday's captain's meeting when the topic of sailing in the Bay was addressed. But even he acknowledged that the experience aboard Tonka would be a major advantage. "This (race) is as important for me as the first one we did,'' Venning said. "I think we've used the experience we've gained to try and prepare us. Maybe we'll cut corners in some respects, things that we found out by accident that we'll try to use to our advantage.'' Venning summed up succinctly the feelings aboard all the boats at Friday's launching pad. "This has been building for a couple of weeks and it really comes to a crescendo here,'' he said. "All that hard work is now being rewarded and I think it's a big relief in some ways, but there's an element of anxiety as well. No one knows what lies ahead.'' Also at the start line was Crewcut in Class B, a Sigma 41, with rookie skipper David Marc Finnegan at the helm. Two local boats in Class C were Starr Trail , a Freedom 45 captained by Bob Mulderig but steered by Phil Wilson, and Vivace , a Sigma 36 and one of the smallest boats in the fleet, skippered by Colin Couper. Said Finnegan: "I'm more prepared now than I've ever been.'' Competing here for the second consecutive time is Leslie Swainson, skipper of Scheherazade , a Baltic 37 in Class D which made race history in 1993 with the first all-black crew. Swainson's biggest foe last week was trying to overcome serious problems with his boat when diesel fuel spilled throughout the cabin. Purchased in 1986 by Swainson, Scheherazade -- arguably the hardest boat name to pronounce in the fleet and when translated means "Arabian Princess'' -- was ready to go after full clean-up day on Thursday. The boat enjoyed a strong start with Glenn Astwood steering. "The spill happened coming up here,'' said the soft-spoken Swainson, who has been sailing with the other members of his crew -- George Washington, Walter Trott, Astwood, Lovintz Cann and Lawson Williams -- since 1966. "The crew brought it up and they had some trouble and we thought we solved it right away but didn't. But those kinds of last-minute details are all part of boating.'' Swainson, calm, but business-like, admitted his crew was approaching this year's race in a far different manner than in 1993, but there was still some time for laughter. Washington, delighting the people he was staying with, left a note attached to his bed which read: "George Washington slept here''. "We had more time to think about racing this time,'' Swainson said later. "Last time we didn't, but this time we're more serious about it.'' Ron Noonan, searching for a first overall hat-trick with Wildflower , a Bristol 40, is in Class F. Said Venning later: "Everyone's got a fairly good idea of what sort of course they want to take to Bermuda. Once you leave Buzzard's Bay all the boats seem to go in completely different directions and it's hard to believe that everyone is actually going to the same destination. "The first night there's just a mass of lights around you and then on the second and third day you may see one or two boats if you're lucky. And just as you're getting close to Bermuda on the fourth day all of a sudden boats seem to appear from everywhere. It's quite an amazing sight.'' The sailors got good news from the meteorologist at the captain's meeting, although the light winds could pose a problem for the bigger boats. But not all sailors follow the advice they're given the night before the race. "I've got to really see what happens out there,'' said Noonan, eyes squinting toward the sea. "You always have a couple of eddy's you have to deal with where you want to enter the Gulf Stream. "Last time there was an attractive eddy out to the west that most people went out to get and that was my intention until I started out there. When I did the math I found that route wasn't worth the carrots.'' The Marion to Bermuda race is one of the few offshore races that doesn't permit competitors to use electronic instruments for navigating except within 50 miles of land at the start and finish. "You don't have a motor powering you along and you're using the wind to your advantage,'' said Venning. "I enjoy the skill of using the wind. We can't all be Dennis Connors, but we're striving to be.'' PHOTO BIG WHEEL -- Gary Venning steers Tonka to hot start.

MARION RACE SAILING