A changeover of skippers made for some dramatic dinghy racing in Hamilton Harbour yesterday when the start of the season finally got underway in the pouring rain.

Bermuda Fitted Dinghy newcomer Derek Ratteray surprised the six-strong fleet of boats by sailing the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club's Elizabeth to victory in the first race.

And the longtime offshore racer was not being modest about clinching the BAA Cup: "We just sailed well.'' He added: "These guys are good,'' when a crew member off RBYC rival dinghy Contest asked Ratteray what his secret was.

Elizabeth had led all the way, enjoying a 35-second victory over Contest .

In another surprise of the day, the White family's Port Royal made up for its disappointing introduction to the dinghy racing scene last season with a victory in the second race.

With new skipper Brett Wright at the helm, the bright yellow boat crossed the finish line some 20 seconds ahead of the rest of the fleet.

The two Somerset crews, meanwhile, suffered a frustrating day.

Last season's champion Challenger , with Jamie Harvey taking over the helm from Paul Fisher and sporting a nearly all-new crew, came second last in the BAA Cup race and last in the Whitney Cup race.

However, Harvey and crew Michael Tatem, Bruce Gibbons, Sarah Lane Adderley, and 12-year-old Andrew Henderson, were not discouraged.

"We were a little disappointed,'' Harvey said. "But we are just trying to do the best we can. We've got a new crew -- some of the old guys had been on Challenger for years.'' The second Sandys Boat Club dinghy Echo , with Martin Siese back at the helm after taking a break last season, suffered a sudden overbalancing halfway through the second race and became the only boat of the day to sink.

Elizabeth , which rounded out last season fourth, did not fare as well in the second race due to a bad call in putting up her spinnaker on a particularly gusty downwind leg.

But she managed to pick up considerable speed over the remaining few legs and raced past Challenger and Victory and into third place. She didn't quite manage to take Contest , which is being skippered full-time this season by Andreas Lewin.

Port Royal maintained the lead throughout the race after the showers ceased and the wind dropped to around 10 knots.

The St. George's boat Victory , with Michael Oatley again at the helm, caused quite a stir as it rounded the stake boat on the first downwind leg of the 4 p.m. race.

All six boats had been heading towards the mark within only a few feet of each other. Port Royal managed to go around first in the tense situation, leaving Victory , Contest and Challenger almost neck and neck.

Seeing an opportunity, Oatley came up from behind in a cheeky last minute move and squeezed his boat between the other two amid cries of protest.

"Get out! Get out!'' the two crews screamed as they were forced to go slightly wider to make way for the dinghy.

But Victory , in an arguably masterful manoeuvre, sailed cleanly between the two boats with crew member Brian Hillier sticking his arm out as an emergency bumper.

The move, however, did not seem to help Victory much. She soon fell into fourth place and will likely be angrily protested before the dinghy racing committee at a later date.

Challenger moved into third place for a short time, but also lost speed and wound up last.

The fleet was a boat short with Jordy Walker's Bloodhound reportedly out of commission for the next few races while he takes part in the Newport-Bermuda race.

No date has been set yet for the postponed May 24 races for the Anniversary and Masters Cups.