A re-enactment of the famous British victory at the Battle of Trafalgar almost ended in an embarrassing stalemate on Sunday, when the two teams of sailors fought to a draw in the Great Sound on Sunday.

The event was designed to mark the 200th anniversary of the famous naval battle and raise funds for the Bermuda Sloop Foundation.

Organisers had divided the 18 yachts into two teams, with the idea that the winning team would, de facto, be British while the losing team would be French.

But as the sailors ? who included the Governor and several other local dignitaries ? raced around the Great Sound, it gradually became clear that this Battle of Trafalgar would be far less decisive than the original version.

There were several fierce battles with water cannons and buckets ? the only weapons allowed on Sunday ? but these weapons proved to have far less stopping power than gunpowder and cannon balls.

The first three boats to finish, on corrected time, were Blue Team members: Sadiiqii (Pete Ramsdale), Alexis (Martin Purser) and Moxie (Fred Weber).

But they were followed by a solid group of Red Team members ? led by Borderlaw (Steve Sherwin), Monkeyshines (Jon Corless), Eclipse (Richard Hosker) and Crossfire (Kirk Cooper) and Not Mine (Jonathan Brewin).

Any hopes of a decisive Blue Team win ended when team member Cruising On The Bank (David Frith) retired with foresail problems.

When the scores were added up, the Red Team and the Blue Team each had 86 points.

In the end, the Race Committee awarded official victory to the Red Team, but ordered that the prize ? several cases of rum provided by sponsor Goslings Ltd ? be shared equally between the French and British.

This ensured that Bermuda?s British Governor and Deputy Governor ? both sailing on Red Team boats ? were spared the diplomatic embarrassment of being on French team that lost to the British.

Sir John Vereker was aboard Severn, while his deputy Nick Carter was sailing on Not Mine.

Also taking part were Edgar Humann, the honorary French Consul, and several Bermuda Sea Cadets. The cadets are preparing for a trip to the UK later this month for celebrations and a re-enactment of the Battle of Trafalgar there.