Bermuda Party nomination for the upcoming Pembroke West by-election.

For charter fishing boat skipper Kevin Winter -- who considered running himself -- is set to go full steam ahead for Shell Oil executive Wayne Soares in his bid to win the nomination in what is shaping up to be a head-to-head with ex-Government Senate leader and party chairman Gary Pitman.

And Mr. Winter's decision not to run and back Mr. Soares instead could be seen in the tight-knit constituency as a counter to former branch chairman Joyce Hall's endorsement of Mr. Pitman in an advert in Friday's edition of The Royal Gazette .

Mr. Winter, 35, who also lives in the constituency, last night confirmed he would be meeting Mr. Soares today.

He said: "That is pretty much what is going to be happening -- I'm going to get in behind Wayne, gain some political experience and get myself prepared for the next round, which will be a few years down the road from now.'' According to party sources, Mr. Winter's youth and lack of political experience might have counted against him.

Winter to back Soares in by-election Mr. Winter said: "Some people used to consider youth as a weakness -- but I wouldn't consider it that myself.'' He added he had not seen Mrs. Hall's advert backing Mr. Pitman for the Government nomination in the solid UBP seat. Mrs. Hall's statement acknowledges Mr. Pitman is not as well-known locally as Mr. Soares and gives an impressive account of professional and political achievements by the former Senator.

Mr. Winter admitted his decision could be seen as a counterpunch in a constituency insider v. outsider fight.

Mr. Winter said: "I think in Spanish Point that's a big factor. It's a close-knit community and a lot of people are related.

"I guess I'd have to see Mrs. Hall's statement before commenting, but I guess that could be seen to be a factor.

"And I think it is going to be a major factor in the primary.'' The by-election was caused by the retiral of then-Health and Social Services Minister Clarence Terceira from politics.

That came hard on the heels of a by-election in the same seat last November after then-Youth and Sport Minister David Dyer quit the House of Assembly.

The Progressive Labour Party has already decided to field developer Rodney Smith, who increased his party's share of the vote slightly in the November contest, which was still won convincingly by the UBP's Erwin Adderley.

The National Liberal Party's Graeme Outerbridge came a poor third, with just over 30 votes, and the NLP is unlikely to field a candidate this time around, choosing instead to husband their resources for this year's General Election.