PORT, Rhode Island -- The 38th Newport to Bermuda Race is off and sailing following a smooth start here yesterday afternoon.

But the voyage to Bermuda looks like being anything but smooth with thunderstorms, squalls and choppy seas predicted out in the Atlantic this weekend.

Conditions were deteriorating fast yesterday as the boats lined up for the start off Brenton Reef Tower.

High winds were buffeting the fleet and rough seas giving thre crews a brief taste of what they will have to contend with over the next few days.

Much will depend on how they handle the Gulf Stream -- all too often the place where the race is won and lost.

For the voyage that lies ahead, strategy and good navigation can count for as much as having a fast boat.

Eldon Trimingham, who led off Bermuda's trio of hopefuls yesterday, will be relying heavily on navigator Charlie Kempe to see him safely and speedily back to Bermuda.

Trimingham's Escape was among the 12 boats in Cruising Division Class G that got the action under way yesterday. They are competing for the Argentine Trophy won in 1990 by Juan Corradi's Pirate .

Bermuda did well in this class in 1990 when local skipper Paul Hubbard finished second on corrected time on board Tonka .

Class G set off on the 635-mile voyage at 1 p.m. Bermuda time, followed at 15-minute intervals by the remaining six classes.

Second to go was Cruising Division Class F in which Nicholas Dill's Dillightful is flying the flag for Bermuda.

He is competing with 14 other boats for the Samuel Pepys Trophy held by Frank V. Snyder's Chasseur .

Neither of the Cruising Division champions are defending their titles this year.

The Racing Division Class E crown is also up for grabs with Lawrence S.

Huntington's Denali another of this year's absentees.

Denali was the overall race winner on corrected time in 1990 when she was awarded the coveted St. David's Lighthouse Trophy.

Colin Couper's Vivace , the last of the Bermuda boats and the only one entered in the Racing Division, is one of the 20 contenders for the Alfred F. Loomie Memorial Trophy. The 38-foot sloop was tucked in towards the rear of the fleet as the smallest of the Racing Division classes left here yesterday.

There were no Bermuda boats to look out for in the four remaining classes, but there was no shortage of interest.

The start of Class D was an impressive sight, with 21 boats jockeying for position at the gun.

The Class D boat that finishes with the best corrected time will win the Malabar Trophy captured in 1990 by William Apthorp's Leda .

Class C -- the biggest of the seven classes with 22 boats -- saw Eugene B.

Sydnor Jr.'s Etoile begin her quest to retain the Sir Thomas Lipton Memorial Trophy. She is the only 1990 class winner back to defend her title this year, and looks set to be hard pushed by Carlisle Knowlton's As Larks and James P.

Thompson's Ariel , who finished third and fourth respectively last time out.

Class B saw history in the making with Nance Frank and her all-female crew setting off on board the 46-foot sloop Dancer . Never before has an all-female crew tackled the gruelling 635-mile race. Frank, from Annapolis, is using the Newport-Bermuda Race as a warm-up for her assault on the Whitbread Round The World Challenge.

She and 17 Class B rivals are competing for the Ray Graham Bigelow Memorial Trophy won in 1990 by Oliver D. Grin's Collaboration .

Class A, the last to leave here yesterday but almost certainly the first to arrive in Bermuda next week, saw the biggest boats in the fleet set out one boat short.

Donnybrook made it to the start line but developed last-minute problems and was forced to sit out and watch as the remaining nine Class A boats began the race. James Muldoon's Santa Cruz 70 had been among those expected to vie for honours.

However, Class A still promises to be among the most hotly-contested this year with Boomerang , the first to finish in 1990, and Merrythought -- with four Onion Patch Series race victories to her credit already -- among the main contenders.

Arcardia , the reigning Latifa Challenge Cup champion, and Encore -- class runner-up in 1990 -- are also among the fleet.

A total of 117 boats set course for Bermuda yesterday, with the first expected to arrive some time on Monday.