t?s been over 50 years since Howard Lee won the first of two Edward Cross Cup titles sailing in the annual Long Distance Comet Race which began in 1945.

Yet at age 70, the weather beaten skipper is still a force to be reckoned with.

Lee?s life-long love affair with sailing began in humble surroundings on the southern side of Hamilton Harbour near the Red Hole Boat Slip and Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club at age seven.

?My grandfather (Fred Enos) gave me a little old punt that I used to sail by Red Hole with a little oar and a flour bag sail,? recalled Lee.

?And everyday I?d poke around in that little punt just wondering how I was going to get the darn thing to go ahead.

?I put a flour bag sail on it and a mast but I could only go one way (downwind) with it because I didn?t have a keel. And so I nailed a piece of wood on the bottom that enabled me to sail in both directions. And that?s how I began sailing.?

Six years later Lee?s sailing career really took flight.

?I started out at West End Sailboat Club at age 13 sailing comets with Gates Smith and Sparky Lightbourne,? he continued. ?They picked me up off the rocks fishing (in Paget) one day and invited me to go with them as crew in their comets.?

A lively, hard chime, non-spinnaker, 16-foot racing sailboat, the comet is a common sight in the USA and first appeared in Bermuda in the 1940s. Their light weight (260-295 lbs.), generous sail area (140 sq. ft.) and semi-flat bottom, make them easily driven to weather and can be planned off the wind in breezes of only 10 to 12 knots.

They carry a sloop rig (mainsail and jib), the mast stands 25 feet and five inches above the deck and is supported by an adjustable three stay rig. The hulls are available in either fibreglass or wood, and since 1972 fibreglass comets have been fully self rescuing.

?My uncle (Irving Wilkinson) helped me get a second boat from around the boat slip where I worked as an apprentice. I also received a lot of advice from old timers on lots of things when it came to boating,? Lee continued.

?But I was mostly self-taught and I used to practise everyday for the entire summer like a real sailing nut. I ate, drank and slept the sport.

?Sailing was my life because my mother left me when I was about three years old and my father was drinking at the time and the only thing I had was this little sailboat that helped me to grow up around the water and meet friends as I went along.

?Whenever I get into a sailboat I feel so relaxed and it is a great thing to know you have hung around the sport this long.?

Lee recalled how years ago comets were built from heavy wood ? a far cry from today?s sophisticated fibreglass hulls.

East End Mini Yacht Club skippers Colin Clarke and Roddy Foggo were the first to introduce fibreglass comets to the Island.

?They didn?t have any automatic bailers like they do now and so we used to have a big coffee tin and all I was instructed to do in those early days was to bail out the water because the boats used to leak a lot,? said Lee.

?We used to race near the old Naval Base (former US Naval Annex in Southampton ) and we used to bring our boats through the bridge (Somerset Bridge) from Ely?s Harbour. The bridge used to open just wide enough for the boat?s masts to go through.?

any comets in those days were built at Robinson?s boat slip while the Long Distance Race originally started at Somerset Bridge and finished off the Oil Docks on the North Shore.

?Ellsworth Lovell was my idol at that time and he was a hard guy to beat,? said Lee, who sails today with grandson Rockal Evans onboard.

Between 1948 and 1954 Lovell won three Edward Cross Cups sailing in two different comets (

Lee?s two victories sailing in arrived in 1956 and 1957 when he became only the fourth skipper ever to win back-to-back titles behind his idol Lovell.

?Many things can happen in these races because I actually won my first race in total darkness and no wind,? Lee recalled. ?The committee and spectator boats did not know what to do and so it was decided the race would end at Hog Fish Beacon (in the Great Sound), and we won it.?

n 1962 Alton Millett became the first comet skipper to win three Long Distance titles on the trot, a feat the legendary East End Mini Yacht Club heavyweight repeated in 1967.

With victory next week, two-time defending West End Sail Boat Club skipper Rudy Bailey can join Millett as the only two skippers to have won three Edward Cross titles in succession.

Between 1955 and 1983 Millett racked up 11 Long Distance titles, a record that stood for nearly two decades until prot?g? Stevie Dickinson ? sailing in his late mentor?s boat ? set a new mark in 2000.

Dickinson first competed in the Long Distance race at the tender age of 14 years. Next week will be the multiple (record 13 wins) champion?s 30th race.

In 1976 Lee enjoyed the distinction of representing Bermuda at the Montreal Olympics in the Fin Class, one of four classes in which the veteran skipper has competed during his career.

?I went through hell to get to the Olympics because when I was sailing in Portugal (Olympic qualifier) the boats arrived late from France because they were towed over by car,? Lee smiled.

?I sailed in a lot of different races and travelling overseas to compete in the Fin Class enabled me to broaden my horizons and experience many wonderful things.

?And to represent your country is one of the greatest things a man can ever get involved in because first of all you have to fight to get there. When I got to the Olympics and walked into that big arena it was a hell of an experience for me and I recall Clarence Hill was there with me.

?He was very vocal then and I used to always tell him ?take it easy?. But after he won his medal (bronze) I thought he didn?t get the recognition he deserved.?

In 1959, Lee, also a footballer, was a member of the Devonshire Lions team that were beaten 3-1 by Dock Hill Rangers in the FA Cup final.

The veteran skipper is also a well-known singer and musician, and can still be found entertaining locals and tourists at the White Horse Tavern and Swizzle Inn restaurants in the East End.

Lee intends to sail in next week?s race in memory of his wife, Patricia, who passed away earlier this year.

?I?m going for first place and feel like I can still make it,? he declared.