and good fortune under exacting conditions in Mangrove Bay yesterday, recording a first and third, to take a commanding 13-point lead in the Coronation Cup standings.

The Sandys Boat Club entry had an inauspicious opening race as they survived a scare on the final leeward leg after difficulty pulling down their spinnaker.

A cool frenzy ensued on board as the crew worked feverishly to maintain buoyancy. But while successful in staying afloat they were forced to surrender second place to Contest .

Meanwhile, Peter Bromby, fresh off a rewarding trip to the Nations Cup in Savannah, Georgia, cruised to a comfortable victory aboard Echo .

"At one stage I thought we might be gone,'' said Fisher of the near catastrophe. "It boiled down to good crew work where nobody panicked and did their job ... also we were lucky.'' The first race was also stamped with the occurrence of two sinkings -- Victory and Elizabeth -- and the withdrawal of Port Royal .

Fisher led from start to finish in race two, however, it was not until disaster struck Bromby during the second leeward leg that the former could feel secure in his position.

Bromby had just usurped second-placed Elizabeth and appeared set on displacing Fisher when Echo's jib halyard broke, causing him to flounder and fall to the rear of the fleet.

"He (Bromby) sailed extremely well today and was very unlucky to have the jib halyard go,'' said Fisher of his rival. "He was gaining on us and we were wondering how we were going to keep him behind us.

ROUGH GOING -- Paul Fisher and the crew of Challenger negotiate yesterday's conditions.