Dinghy Racing season opened on Saturday.

Making his Fitted Dinghy debut, the veteran sailor picked up fourth and third-place finishes then took advantage of four sinkings to take Elizabeth into the overall lead after three races.

Shifting 15-knot winds made for tricky conditions in St. George's Harbour, which was inundated with pleasure craft watching the traditional May 24 races.

It was particularly tricky for Contest , Challenger , Victory and Port Royal , all of whom became submerged and had to be towed out in the Master's Cup, the third and final race of the day.

First-race winner Contest , skippered by Andreas Lewin, was the first to go after inadvertantly hitting the Committee boat. Paula Lewin's Challenger was next, followed by Alan Powell's Victory , which was leading the race -- following two straight sixth-place efforts -- when distaster struck. Willy White's Port Royal , second in the first two races, ended up submerged right on top of Victory .

That opened the door for Smith, the 1996 Olympian in the Laser class who took over Elizabeth from White before the season. Echo , skippered by another newcomer, Somers Kempe, ended up second in the third race after a pair of fifth-place finishes in the opening two races.

Elizabeth sits two points ahead of Challenger heading into the next two races on Sunday (first in Granaway Deep, the next in Hamilton Harbour).

Contest is fourth overall, despite taking the Heritage Trophy, emblematic of victory in the season opener. Challenger took the Anniversary Cup for winning the second race.

Racing in the traditonal boats continues over ten more weekends during the summer.