Bermuda celebrated a fairytale start to the 2003 Island Games in Guernsey - winning a gold medal within minutes of the competition starting.

The women's time trial cycling team scooped the first gold medal after Lynn Patchett, Melanie Claude and Julia Hawley came home four minutes ahead of their nearest rivals, Guernsey.

But it was a bittersweet result for Patchett, who missed out on the women's individual time trial gold by just two hundredths of a second. Her disappointment was tempered by the fact that the winner was Guernsey's Ann Bowditch and that the event was being timed by handheld stopwatches.

Elsewhere, the Island's basketball and volleyball players all acquitted themselves well, and the table tennis team enjoyed their first taste of international competition.

For Bermuda squad leader Jon Beard it was a great start and one that lifted the 100-plus contingent.

"What a way to start," he said. "The cyclists set a really high level and it has enthused everybody else."

For Patchett it was even more of an achievement, having only started road racing six months ago - and this was only her second time trial.

She completed the 23.6 mile course in 1:00:15, while Hawley came in at 1:00:37, ensuring she collected the bronze medal.

A delighted Patchett, who burst into tears when she discovered she had come in first and was in line for a medal, said: "I am really pleased, especially as this was only my second time trial ever."

Starting third, she passed the first two riders and knew she was on her way to glory when she was the first to finish.

"I felt quite strong and pushed the whole way. To get a medal is fantastic - I am ecstatic," she added.

"We thought we were strong but you never know what the competition is like."

Patchett, Claude and Hawley were the first Bermudians to stand on the winners' rostrum, watching proudly as the national anthem was played and the Island flag raised.

"It is just fantastic," said Hawley. "We have trained for this for a whole year and to realise the dream, all the hard work has paid off."

A combined time of 2:00:52 saw the team four minutes ahead of Guernsey and almost six minutes clear of bronze winners the Isle of Man.

Claude was pleased with her performance: "I felt pretty comfortable out there. I did what I wanted to do, I was really pleased for the girls and hope there will be some more."

The men, who will be looking to the road races for success, finished mid-table, with Kent Richardson coming in 19th with a time of 1:07:23, Geri Mewett 21st (1:07:38), Wayne Scott 29th (1:11:02), Jean Nicholas Bertrand 31st (1:12:19) and Karl Outerbridge 37th (1:16:07).

The Isle of Man's Andrew Roche won gold with a time of 1:00:45, followed by Guernsey's Paul Brehaut and Elliott Baxter of the Isle of Man.

Team manager Jennifer Hedges said it was an awesome ride by the women.

"It is fantastic for us and the team gold was the icing on the cake. It was particularly impressive for Lynn Patchett and Julia Hawley."

But she added she was concerned about the traffic management after Guernsey rider Terry Wright was involved in a collision with a car close to the finish. He suffered head injuries and was later released from hospital after treatment. It happened at a junction, just yards from the finish where cars were being directed away from the track by a single policewoman.

"They should have closed the circuit off and there should have been more than one person at that junction," said Hedges.

Bermuda's volleyball players had mixed fortunes on their first day. The women were beaten 3-0 by Saaremaa but the men fared better, beating Gibraltar 3-0.

In the evening the men faced Rhodes, one of the top teams. They came out 3-1 winners and set themselves up with a real chance of a medal. Both teams were cheered on by noisy Bermudian support from the bleachers.

Coach Adam Fowler said he was pleased to get the first games under their belt and took many positives from the performances.

"We felt we needed to get better and raise the level in each match," he said, adding that they need to win every match to be sure of a top finish. The top two in each group compete for the medal spots.

Assistant coach Bill Bucci said the women had pushed Estonian island Saaremaa all the way, and although they were disappointed not to have taken a game from them, they had still played a solid match.

He added that they just didn't know what to expect from the games but knew many of the islands were determined to bring back medals.

"For some of these islands this is the Olympics. They are very serious and this is the kind of competition we need."

In the triathalon, a makeshift team held its head high, but without top triathletes Karen Smith and Tyler Butterfield their medal hopes were slim.

But Deanna McMullen showed the way, finishing the race after a nasty cycle crash in which she cut her leg and damaged her brakes.

"I am pretty disappointed because I had a really strong swim and I would have been aiming for the medals," said McMullen, in third before the crash.

Team manager Dave Morrison said: "I think we did fairly well. We were disappointed we couldn't take our top people but we are quite happy. Deanna could have had a top five position, possibly even a bronze."

Full results were not available by press time last night.

The men's basketball team got off to a great start, beating Gibraltar 68-62 in what was described as a very physical match. Player Garth Thomson said the team stood up well despite the rough treatment they got from the Gibraltarians.

"Twelve guys stepped up for Bermuda. This the first time we have competed internationally and it was awesome," said Thomson. "It was an ugly game but it is always great to win those."

He added the win set up the match against Cayman Islands as a real head-to-head for a medal play-off position.

Elsewhere, a partial table tennis team of Peter Defreitas and Myron Piper were enjoying the practice as they competed in the team event. Without any women they were instantly defaulting games but still taking some positives out of the competition.

"It is a learning experience to be able to play against different countries similar to us in size," said Piper.

Bermuda lost 7-0 to Saaremaa and were defeated 5-1 by Rhodes. They later lost 7-0 to the Isle of Man.

In badminton it was a similar story, Bermuda losing 5-0 to the Faroe Islands and by the same score to Guernsey in the team event.