St. Baldrick's ? the popular annual head-shaving event ? brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars to benefit cancer victims on Friday night.

A supportive crowd of hundreds packed into the Robin Hood pub ? the staging ground every year for the now popular event ? on Friday night to witness some of Bermuda's great get their heads shaved clean.

Probably the most recognised person Island-wide to step up to bat was Bermuda cricket captain Clay Smith who ? on the spur of the moment ? decided to go bald for the good cause. A hurried (within the space of two minutes) $1,000 was raised for his scalp.

And making a bet he might want to live down, Mr. Smith promised that if his team qualified for the 2007 World Cup, he'd get every team member to participate in next year's St. Baldrick's event.

Most of the other participants hailed from the Island' burgeoning re/insurance sector, with some taking part because of very personal experiences with the devastating disease.

David Drury, whose son is a cancer survivor, gave a heart-wrenching speech on why he decided to take part.

"No other family should have to go through what we had to go through with him," he said, while his son stood at his side.

When the clippers came out, Mr. Drury's wife, Karen, said she thought she might hate the way her husband would look without hair but it was worth it to raise money.

The monies raised from the St. Baldrick's event ? first pioneered seven years ago in the US when some reinsurance executives hatched the idea ? are earmarked to go towards research benefiting children with cancer. Alternatively, those who give to the Bermuda St. Baldrick's participants can also request that their donation remain in Bermuda, going to local cancer charity PALS.

Well-known industry executive David Ezekiel ? CEO of captive management company IAS and chairman of the Association of Bermuda International Companies (ABIC) ? was St. Baldrick's moderator for the fourth year running.

Of those taking the brave step to take it all off were Max Re CEO Robert Cooney ? who had his head shaved ahead of time because he couldn't be at the actual event ? and AXIS CFO Andrew Cook, whose wife, Julia, is a cancer survivor.

Although a mostly male crowd of participants, there was one brave woman ? Davina Dickinson ? set to take part, having already raised some $30,000 for the cause.

Mrs. Dickinson, on the St. Baldrick's website, said she was taking part in honour of her daughter. "As the mother of a young girl who, in her three-and-a-half years has had serious medical issues, I have witnessed first hand someone fighting for their life, known the turmoil that the rest of the family endures and watched a brother bravely understand and come to terms with what his sister has endured. During numerous trips to a Boston Medical facility I have seen too many children affected by radiation treatment. Their beaming smiles still bring tears to my eyes and I wonder how kids so young, and faced with such dismal odds, can have such amazing strength and tremendous courage. So I figure if those kids with cancer can do it, then I can too ? what's a couple of months without hair!"

When it was Mr. Cook's turn to take the barber's chair ? wife Julia and young son Ben at his side ? there was huge applause, with Mr. Ezekiel saying that Mr. Cook alone had raised $123,000 for the event.

Although raising money for a very serious cause, there were plenty of laughs through the night; not least when Mr. Ezekiel asked the son of IPC Re's Robin Newman (the first to get the chop) what he thought of his Dad's participation.

"Not much," he said. A little prodding from Mr. Ezekiel followed: "You're not impressed that your father is doing this?" "No," replied the seven-year old boy, later topping that off with "This is the first bad thing he's ever done." However, Mr. Newman's wife and one-year old child, Paget, seemed duly impressed.

Each participant was given a shadow box made by local entrepreneur Ruth Kempe, complete with before and after pictures and a lock of hair.

Although the final fundraising total is still being calculated, the sum of web site pledges alone for this year's Bermuda St. Baldrick's participants stood at a very impressive $259,000. The final fundraising tally could be much higher as some participants will be eligible for matching donations from the companies they work for, as well as some pledges not being recorded online having been made in person or on the night.