to cap a fine week of racing for he and his female crew Carol Newman Cronin.

Szabo, who earlier had captured the Snipes title at International Race Week, maintained his consistency to overhaul a spirited challenge from countryman Henry Filter, who led entering the final day.

However, Filter incurred his two worst results during that crucial outing, compiling finishes of 10th and 11th, while Szabo came away with a first and eighth -- the latter he dropped -- good enough for the title.

Filter and crew Lori Stout thus settled for second place, while Hal Gilreath, with Ned Jones as crew, wound up third overall.

Top Bermudian entry was Stevie Dickinson and crew Heath Foggo, who placed 12th, with a best finish of sixth.

Malcolm Smith, better known for his exploits in the Sunfish, did enough for 14th in the 31-strong fleet with Damian Payne as crew.

There was plenty of drama in last weekend's two-day Gosling's sponsored BOCA Mumm's Regatta.

Aggressive racing tactics by the quartet of skippers aboard Defiant , Tsunami , Monkeyshines and Silver Spur on Saturday resulted in several near misses, with the craft often coming within feet of each other as they jostled for position along the 16-mile course set in the Great Sound.

Defiant skipper Paul Hiles took the early lead and continued to push towards the first mark, forcing Buddy Rego in Tsunami to enter the Sound via Head of the Lane. This proved fortuitous for Rego, as his Frers 41 rounded the mark in front and went on to take line honours.

Meanwhile, a band of J-24s, fresh from International Race Week, engaged in their own private battle, with Shelagh Tasker's Sadiiqi coming out on top and placing second overall on corrected time.

A slightly shorter course was set for the six-boat PHRF fleet, with Alexis -- a Frers 38 newly acquired by Martin Purser -- leading around the course. With north-west winds of 14 knots she finished more than six minutes ahead of her closest rival.

Sunday's schedule consisted of two windward-leeward races in the Great Sound under more northerly breezes.

John Thompson pushed his J105 Monkeyshines around the first mark just ahead of Tsunami and held the advantage until the next rounding of the mark when Rego edged ahead. Still, Thompson was able to regain the top spot and finished 47 seconds ahead, but lost out to Sadiiqi on corrected time.

However, the real drama came during the countdown of the second race when, with boats manoeuvring for pin position, Sadiiqi misjudged the speed of Monkeyshines resulting in the larger boat's pole ripping the transom rails out of the back of the J-24, forcing a general recall.

Confusion reigned in the aftermath of the collision and consequent recall, with Thompson, apparently expecting a 10-minute sequence, caught off guard when the committee instead gave a five-minute warning.

Tsunami went onto win, maintaining an easy lead throughout, while Monkeyshines surged through the fleet despite the late start, finishing second on corrected time, followed by Sadiiqi .

The PHRF division witnessed Claude Guay's Temptation take the first race followed by Alexis and Wil Webber's Cranberry , while the second outing similarly had Temptation atop the leaderboard, trailed by Lullaby and the short crewed Cranberry .