Stevie Dickinson captured an unprecedented 15th Long Distance Comet Race title yesterday and then dropped a bombshell by announcing his decision not to defend his crown next year.

The veteran East End Mini Yacht Club skipper has opted to take a well-earned rest from the annual sailing spectacle next year and has passed the baton over to 16-year-old crew, Martin Finegan, who will be at the helm of Dickinson's famed Kitty Hawk.

"I have decided that I am going to take a break from this race and make way for some of the youngsters.

"I'm going to let Martin do some sailing with the youngsters and I am just going to watch," Dickinson told The Royal Gazette after regaining the title he lost to Rudy Bailey two years ago.

"After sailing this race for so many years and having won it 15 times as a skipper and once as a crew (2001) I think that's enough for a while.

"I am not saying that I am going to retire completely. I just think the youngsters should have a chance to experience this race and when I'm ready I will jump back in the boat and sail again.

"I have never watched a race and next year I just want to put my feet up, relax and watch all the action."

Dickinson and Finegan grabbed the glory after seeing off a late surge from last year's winner, Jessie Kirkland, who pushed the champions-elect all the way to the finish.

Three-time All-American US collegiate sailor Kirkland and crew Joshua Greenslade finished runner-up in Shaka Zulu while rounding off the top three was West End Sail Boat Club's Gladwin Lambert and crew Greg Proctor in Melody.

In fourth was Scott Fox and crew Daren Hodsoll in Get the Cat, while locking down fifth place was past Olympic sailor Howard Lee and crew Christian Wright in High Yella.

West End Sail Boat Club stalwart, Rudy Bailey, did not finish the race after his mast became a casualty of yesterday's high winds that made keeping the boat upright an art in itself.

"It was definitely tough out there and there were times when the mast was keeling over the bow. I even ripped a hole in my main sail," added Dickinson.

"It was a bit tricky out there and sometimes we lost complete control of the boat. The boat was going so fast and you never knew what was going to happen.

"We could have easily lost something or broke our mast, but we just hung on and stayed with it.

"But the crew work was fabulous. Martin (Finegan) was all over this boat today.

"He was back, forward and over the side, he just did a fantastic job. He was just awesome."

Mount St.Agnes student Finegan was delighted to win a maiden Edward Cross Cup with mentor Dickinson.

"This is a great race and I am just so excited to have won it. This race is serious but at the same time fun and there are a lot of good sailors in this race," he said. "It was close in the end because when I looked behind Kirkland was right there.

"He made up a lot of ground and it was close the whole way down."

Dickinson said he was surprised to see Kirkland on his transom late in the race.

"When we went around St.Catherine's Point Kirkland was in talking distance and so I asked him what happened to Rudy and he told me he had broken his mast," he said.

Kirkland, who briefly led yesterday's race, admitted losing his crown to Dickinson was a bitter pill to swallow.

"Obviously I am disappointed and upset about the first part of the race when I didn't sail too smart.

"We dug ourselves in a huge hole at the beginning of the race and gave up considerable distance which cost us in the end," he said.

"But I'm happy for Stevie because he sailed a good race from start to finish. Consistency on the course wins the race and Stevie sailed more consistently throughout the whole course."

Several boats lost their masts in this year's event including Colin Clarke's Nymph and Romano Ramirez's Hot Tamalli.

East End Mini Yacht Club skipper Clarke, who has sailed in the Long Distance Race since the 1950s, took his misfortune on the high seas all in stride.

"The weather actually turned out worst than we expected," the 75-year-old skipper said. "But I'm not disappointed because I have been racing for so long now that it really doesn't matter. These things happen."