It was far from plain sailing for Peter Bromby and Martin Siese yesterday as they sought to defend their Bacardi Cup title in Florida.

A late start and trying to avoid the numerous collisions that littered the course both played their part in Bermuda's Olympic sailor and his crew finishing 18th in the second of the six race series.

After a 19th place finish in Sunday's opening race the pair now stand 13th out of around 100 competitors.

However, Bromby is far from dejected believing the fact that they posted a top 20 finish despite starting so long after their rivals means that once going they are a force to be reckoned with.

"The breeze was blowing pretty big, probably 20 knots plus," he said. "There were probably 10 to 12 dismastings during the race and a few big collisions. Then on top of that we started a minute late when we didn't get to the start on time."

Bromby said there had been some confusion over just what time racing got underway.

"They put us under postponement at first and we were practising thinking we had 20 more minutes and the next thing I know they are lining up to start," he said.

Despite the handicap the pair set off at a roaring pace.

"We came through the fleet pretty good on the first beat," he said. "But there was a massive collision at the first mark involving five or six boats that we had to sail around and we probably lost 20 boats there."

Though enduring a far from ideal start to the event the title is not out of their grasp.

"The good news is the regatta is still wide open," Bromby said. "Looking at the leaderboard the leader has a 7-4 and the guy in second has a 9-3. Mark Reynolds won today's race but was 23rd in the first race and a couple of the guys you would expect to be there at the end of the day were OCS (on course side of starting line) today.

"Normally a 19-18 after two races doesn't give you much chance but we are 13th overall, so all is not bad. As I said yesterday I still think the best is yet to come - you haven't seen anything yet and we are looking forward to righting the ship tomorrow."