Marion-Bermuda Yacht race.

The first boat is not expected to finish until today or early tommorrow morning after traveling 645 miles and navigating the sometimes treacherous Gulf Stream.

"If the yachts make it to Bermuda by Tuesday, or early Wednesday that would be good time,'' said Richard Healy, spokesperson for the racing management committee in Marion, last night.

The race committee members who were flying from Marion to Bermuda yesterday, reported to have seen some of the vessels, and it was estimated that no one was any closer than 100 miles.

The skippers are not allowed to make contact with the yacht clubs, or with anyone while racing, except in emergency situations.

"We don't really know anything about the boats until they come in,'' he added. "We can only guess and make estimates about their arrival time.'' Healy did say that he received a report from one of the boats in the just-completed Bermuda One-Two race, that a Marion boat, Freckles had run into a bit of difficulty when they started taking in water due to a leaky head. The problem was solved after a minor delay, and with the aid of the double handed Bermuda One-Two boat.

The finish is at St. Davids Light. The prize giving will be on Saturday.

Of the 420 sailors making the trip, 36 are Bermuda residents. The youngest is 13-year-old Jonathan Carter, a crew on board Columbine , the first vessel to finish in the Marion-Bermuda 1995 race, skippered by Richard Leather.

The race, now one of the East Coast's and Bermuda's most popular, was inspired because two friends in 1975 thought it would be a good idea to sail to one anothers houses.

David Kingery of Marion took a sabbatical from the Massachussetts Institute of Technology and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean. After his journey, he decided to rent a house in Bermuda for a couple of months where he met Geoffrey "Dickie'' Bird, of Tucker's Town.

The two became friends and found they shared a love of sailing. Their meeting proved to be the impetus of the race, which has been running every other year since 1977.