Bermuda race organisers waited patiently for the first boat to cross the finish line at St. David's Lighthouse.

And it was a long wait, indeed.

First reports hinted at an arrival of the first boat by dawn, but that soon turned out to be a false alarm.

"Every time the phone rings I'm expecting some news,'' Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club commodore Buddy Rego said last night.

A helicopter was unable to spot any boats 35 miles offshore of Bermuda late yesterday afternoon, although a radio transmission from Columbine , considered the scratch boat of the fleet of 75 vessels, was picked up. That could have meant an arrival of sometime during the night.

In 1981 the first boat did not cross the finish line until 10 p.m. four days after the lauch of the race, which means this could become the slowest finish in the history of the race.

"Everyone knew the (sailors) were facing light winds,'' said Rego.

Rego closely monitored the situation from Harbour Radio, eager to greet the first crew members.

"At this stage we expected them to be here and I keep telling everyone we did see the boats leave Marion on Friday,'' he said, laughing.