Rudy Bailey kicked off the 2007 Comet sailing season with a bang in the Great Sound last weekend.

The West End Sail Boat skipper won all three triangular races to clinch the Mid Winter Championship and claim the season’s first jewel up for grabs.

Bailey’s West End stable-mate Gladwin Lambert — who led in all but one race - pocketed three seconds while East End rival Scott Fox claimed three thirds respectively.

“I had a decent start to the season, although I did have a few butterflies initially. But things did get better as the day progressed,” said Bailey, who has again set himself high goals for the summer.

“My goals are pretty much the same this year. I hope to improve on last year’s second place in the Long Distance Race and try to win the North American and International Championships in the US later this summer.”

Bailey came from behind to take line honours in the opening race after Lambert had opened up a sizeable lead at the leeward start. The veteran skipper managed to get inside of his West End club-mate heading to the second windward mark and was able to cover the fleet for the remainder of the race.

The second race saw Bailey lead from start to finish and then pick up a good lift on a port side tack to get over Lambert in the third before romping to an impressive hat-trick of bullets in favourable conditions.

Bailey sailed with crew Fred Bulford in last weekend’s regatta, a union that captured three successive Edward Cross Cups between 1986 and 1988. To this day no other Somerset skipper has achieved the feat.

“He’s going to be sailing a lot with me this summer. We go way back and I’m happy to have him back onboard,” Bailey said.

Comet stalwart Stevie Dickinson did not compete in last weekend’s regatta.

However, club-mate Fox did an excellent job representing East End Mini Yacht Club in his absence by posting three successive thirds.

With the 2007 season having started in earnest, class president Gladwin Lambert is looking forward to another exciting summer of racing in the dinghy class.

“Everyone is excited to race and have put time in preparing their boats. And I feel that we are going to have an even better season than we had last year,” Lambert said.