Newport to Bermuda race he'll be doing so aboard a much different Alphida than the one which captured line honours and headlines during last year's Marion to Bermuda event.

The 61-foot aluminium sloop snaked its way from Massachusetts to Bermuda in a remarkable record 78 hours, 33 minutes and 42 seconds, outsmarting the Gulf Stream and beating the previous mark by a skimpy 21 seconds.

But the joy of his record-breaking performance in June was punctuated a few months later when Cooper received word from New England, where the bottom of the boat was being painted, that Alphida had been seriously damaged in a freak mishap which even saw one of Cooper's crew members break a leg.

"One of the upright stands fell over and the boat toppled,'' said Cooper, just prior to leaving for Newport this week. "And the mast went through a 14,000 voltage high tension wire, which broke it and fried the electrical system, some of the power systems, mashed up the furniture inside and badly ruined two-thirds of the starboard side.

"She was almost considered a total loss,'' he added. "We've been working like hell on it since then and finally she was launched about 10 days ago.'' The feverish pace to repair Alphida paid off handsomely with news that the 22-year-old boat will be ship-shape for this weekend's two regattas in Newport, part of the Onion Patch Series, and then for the Newport to Bermuda race, which begins next Friday.

What's more is that Cooper, with 17 Newport and Marion races, along with three appearances in the Olympics, under his belt, remains convinced that Alphida is an even better boat than the one which stole the spotlight a year ago.

The boat now has a sparkling new mast, a new boom (long pole), and a facelift to 18 feet of her side that even Elizabeth Taylor would be proud of. There is also 10 percent more sail room now, which will help make the boat quicker.

"So she'll be different,'' said Cooper, 61, while running a finger along a framed portrait of Alphida near his desk. "It's going to be like a new boat and I think she's going to be better. She didn't have a lot of sail area, she was very good in a breeze, but not so good in light air. Now she'll be good in both.'' Whether or not the many alterations can produce a stellar performance equal to Marion remains to be seen. Cooper will be returning to Newport after sitting out the 1992 race, when he served as chair of the international jury which meted out penalties for infractions of racing rules.

Since last June he has been sitting on top of the world, still able to look back in utter joy at how he and his crew took the steam out of the Stream to be the toast of the country.

"I told everyone (before the start of the Marion race) how we had a rare opportunity,'' said Cooper. "Because the forecast was right up our alley and if it held we'd be able to set a record. I thought we'd break it by five or six hours and would have done it if we hadn't run out of wind.

"We were well prepared, as well prepared as we've ever been.'' Cooper will be joined this time by a crew of 13 -- seven from Bermuda, four from the United States and two from Britain. The other local sailors are Bill Dawson, Malcolm Wilson, Ron Stan, Mick Finnegan, Tom Miller and Peter Bromby.

The dean of Island skippers will have Alphida competing in the racer/cruiser class, where two other Bermuda entries, Tsunami , skippered by Buddy Rego and Jalapenos Dos , captained by former Royal Bermuda Yacht Club commodore Jordy Walker will be at the starting line of the 635-mile ocean crossing at the entrance to Narragansett Bay.

"It's going to be harder for us to do as well in this race as we did in the Marion,'' Cooper said. "I mean we're not going to be first to finish unless something really crazy happens out there.'' Later he said: "It's a dice roll, but you can win it. Some boats in the last few years have won that nobody expected could win. The Naval Academy ( Constellation ) won in 1992 and did a hell of a job with a 1972 vintage boat and got in the right place at the right time.

"So I think we have a chance this time. We have a good rating, a new sail plan, new sails and the best junior helmsman assembled that we ever have.

Peter (Bromby) can't be in better form than he is right now.'' The lifelong sailor hinted this year's Newport to Bermuda may be his last, but it would be difficult to imagine Cooper away from the challenge of an ocean race.

"I'd love to win it,'' he said matter-of-factly. "No Bermuda boat has ever won the trophy (Bermuda Lighthouse Trophy) and it would be a good thing for Bermuda and certainly a nice thing for any Bermudian to do.

"This could easily be my last one, I just don't know at this stage. So I'd like to give it one full blast and see how we come out.

"This Alphida is a great boat and we cruise it a lot,'' said Cooper. "We cruised it for four weeks last year in Nova Scotia and I'm getting to the stage of my life where I enjoy tremendously the cruising side of it.

"But I still love the challenge of a boat race. It's like going on a real super holiday because you forget right away what your troubles may be at your desk because you've got to think about what's going on in your boat.''