MARION, Massachusetts -- The sleepy hamlet of Marion sprung to life yesterday as the countdown to the start of the Marion to Bermuda race began in earnest.

Beverley Yacht Club captains and crews scurried about getting their boats "ship shape'' for the 645-mile passage to Bermuda, which starts tomorrow.

Just over a third of the 118-strong fleet have so far registered for the biennial event with the typical late flurry expected today. All arrivals from Bermuda were treated to a dinner last night.

Seven of the eight Bermuda craft were moored amidst the picturesque setting of Sippican Harbour with Kirk Cooper's 60-foot sloop Alphida the only absentee.

He is moored in Fairhaven, eight miles from Beverley.

Unlike 1991, Alphida is not the scratch boat this time, that honour going to Krisujen , owned by Joseph Dockery of Connecticut. Still, the Bermudian is expected for line and Class A honours.

Marion communications officer Richard Healy said that he expected Alphida to challenge the record for the voyage, 781 hours held by Warren Brown's War Baby .

"He probably won't admit it, but I have a feeling Alphida will be going for a record passage,'' said Healy. "He certainly is capable of doing it.'' Early forecasts for tomorrow held some promise -- warm and sunny with good winds. A high pressure system sitting off the coast was responsible.

Meanwhile, Phil Wilson, captain of Robert Mulderig's Starr Trail was taking a wait-and-see approach.

"We're a brand new boat right out of the shipyard, so it's hard to know how we'll perform,'' said Wilson, who was the watch captain for Alphida when she crossed the line first in 1991 and is a veteran of four Marion races. "We are not sure of our boat speed and will have to see how we do when we come up alongside some of the others.

"We're in the process of doing sea trials and so far everything's going according to confusion.

"With any breeze we'd hope to be in by Tuesday night. I just hope the parties are still going on when we get there.'' Buddy Rego sailed his Frers 41 Tsunami from nearby Newport on Tuesday and indicated few problems. His main worry right now is how to negotiate Buzzard's Bay in Cape Cod at the start.

He also is concerned about being placed in Class A, meaning he has to compete with Cooper and other much larger boats.

"The critical part is knowing how to get out of Buzzard's Bay,'' said Rego, skippering for the first time in the Marion race. "You have to be careful dealing with the tides.'' Another newcomer, Leslie Swainson was hard at work aboard Scheherazade , which had an eventful trip to the east coast.

A lightning storm greeted the foursome charged with delivering the Baltic 37 sloop and this was followed by winds upward of 40 knots in the Gulf Stream.

Finally, they were forced to motor in the last 100 miles to Portsmouth due to strong winds on the nose.

Also safely berthed were Colin Couper's Vivace , David Roblin's Lullaby , defending RHADC trophy winner Tonka , skippered by Paul Hubbard and Nicholas Dill's Dillightful .

KIRK COOPER -- Can he and the crew of Alphida , right, go into the record books?