he swept to the head of the leader board after the second set of races in the Great Sound yesterday.

Sailing aboard his favoured craft Temptation with crew Cal Lynch, Bailey ran away with the first race and led until the final leg during the second before losing ground and winding up third.

But with the three and three-quarter points garnered he leapt four places from fifth to first to stand on 123 points, one and three quarters ahead of countryman Stevie Dickinson (141 ) in second, with overnight leader Malcolm Smith third on 143 .

It was a frustrating day for many as winds were light and a few decided it better to drop out and use the result as a discard rather than struggle around the course. But this was not the case for Bailey who thrived under the conditions.

The opening race had Bailey shoot to the front at the start and never look back, forcing all others into a battle for the runner-up positions. American Jamie Hilton (15) won that battle over Mark Hess (20) to record his second number two finish and maintain contact with the leaders. Richard Harmon was fourth and Smith trailed in fifth.

A repeat almost followed the second time out as Bailey, of the West End Sailboat Club, once again seized the early lead but the field closed steadily and Bailey finally surrendered as Dickinson and Mark Beaton overhauled him on the final leg to windward with Dickinson edging the American at the end by half a boat length.

There was another close battle for the fourth spot as Gladwin Lambert and defending champion Hilton duelled, resulting in the latter beating the former by a nose.

Smith, the star of the opening day, appeared undaunted by the earlier series of events and expressed confidence heading toward the final two races today.

"There'll be some new winners tomorrow,'' was Smith's guarantee to the rest of the fleet.

Hilton meanwhile was a bit more philosophical when speaking about the matter and stated that he will be going all out for the championship.

"The money's on the table now and whoever wants to take it is going to take it, said Hilton, representing the Shrewsbury Sailboat Club of New Jersey.

"Tomorrow I'll have to pick it up a notch and just go for it. I'll be a little more aggressive...it's anybody's regatta right now.'' Hess and crew Ann Filbert, who had a hard time during the second race where they were 10th, were optimistic about their chances but thought that the Bermudians, with a better knowledge of local conditions, definitely had an advantage.

"It's a challenge out there with the winds constantly shifting,'' said Filbert. "The people who have sailed here before definitely have the key to opening the door.'' Turn to Page 19 for more local sailing news.

BAILEY BIDS FOR GLORY -- Bermuda's Rudy Bailey (4127) leads the fleet after the second day of competition in the 1992 Comet Internationals.