inch of the way for a second successive Tornado World Championship title by spending more than three weeks in Bermuda in training for the defence of his crown, everyone knows he is deadly serious now.

With crewman Reni Schwall, he overcame persistent weather problems in the Great Sound yesterday to finish a narrow second to surprise winners, compatriots and training partners Johannes Polgar and Carsten Happel, as the Germans and Brazilians dominated the first of the 10-race competition.

Gaebler, who won the title for the first time in Queensland, Australia, last year with Frank Parlow, enthused afterwards: "It's the best start we've ever made to a championship. It was hard to sail out there at times today. There were 100 degree changes in the wind.'' A trio of teams from Brazil -- Freitas and Wright, Greal and Schmidt and Tomassini and Passos -- took the next three places, edging Canadians Sweeney and Smith, leaders for the first two legs, into an eventual sixth position, while Spanish gold medallists from Atlanta, Leon and Ballester, made a slow start, coming in eighth behind Americans Feeny and Doyle.

Australian Mitch Booth, who picked up silver at the last Olympics and along with former team-mate John Forbes is bidding for a record third world title here, finished a disappointing 11th. Forbes, crewing for Darren Bundock this time round, came in 21st out of 62 finishers.

The Bermudian teams of Astwood and Payne and Jay and Jackie Kempe finished a creditable 25th and 26th respectively.

The race committee had twice been forced to delay the start of the contest on a day which tested the patience of competitors and spectators alike.

Thunderstorms and then further outbreaks of heavy rain played havoc with the first championships in these waters for 11 years.

The early morning storms initially prevented the boats getting out on the water and when they did, the interludes of bright sunshine were irritatingly brief before the clouds built up once more to heap misery on the frustration.

The event finally got underway two hours late, and just when spectators on the admittedly small flotilla following the race settled back to enjoy the spectacle, the winds dropped again, necessitating several changes of course before it was completed.

Gaebler, however, backed the committee's action in delaying proceedings, saying that continual showers through the race area had made the winds almost non-existent. And he said the course changes had come at the right time.

He had praise too for winners Polgar and Happel, who just held him off in a cat and mouse race for the finish line. "It was fantastic for them, but a bit surprising, although they have both been champions in other classes.'' However the world number one knows if they keep up this form throughout the week to deny him a second straight crown, he will only have himself to blame. "Two years ago I was the trainer for the Tornado youngsters in Germany,'' he said.

"I found these guys and trained them.''