Jonathan Brewin's 53 foot sloop Big Bear continued to live up to its name as the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club (RHADC) entry led the Marion to Bermuda Race fleet at press time last night.

Brewin's gamble to sail in a more westerly direction in pursuit of fresh breeze appears to be paying dividends as he now finds himself in the driver's seat for line honours.

"The boat is beautifully balanced and great to sail," he said.

Joining the veteran sailor onboard are Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (RBYC) commodore-elect Peter Shrubb, past RHADC commodore Buddy Rego, helmsman Allan Williams, navigator Kieron O'Connell, watch captain Somers Kempe, engineer Mike Carey and chef Mark Henneburger.

Brewin continued: "Herculean effort by the team over the last 20 hours with every sail combination possible having been up, down and up again. Great stuff."

Apart from tearing an old kite and keeping a wary eye on an unpredictable low system situated south of the Gulf Steam, the crew aboard Big Bear, who are competing in Class A, endured a mostly uneventful day yesterday as they made steady progress to Bermuda.

"We have tried to figure out what this low is going to do. It feels a bit like that early computer game, where a chomping green circle chased you around the screen and you were never sure which it was going to go next and whether it was going to snare you," Brewin added.

"Thankfully for now we seem to have punched far enough south to be clear, paws crossed that we can keep trucking.

"We are still trucking along and will now have to work hard to hold our desired tactical station going south across the Gulf Stream."

Holding their own in Class C is local entry, Pond Prowler, skippered by Jonathan Baxter.

At press time last night Pond Prowler was near the head of the pack in her respective class, currently led by Barry Feldman's Baltic 43, Avalon.

Baxter and crew are the current Corporation of Hamilton Trophy holders, a title they are keen to hold onto.

The third local entry in this year's Marion to Bermuda Race, Bermuda Oyster, owned by Paul Hubbard, withdrew from the race just prior to last Friday's start in overcast conditions in Buzzard's Bay due to mechanical problems.

Also having withdrawn from the 645-nautical mile ocean crossing are US entries Galileo, Shooting Star, Sea Fever, Nightwind, Cayenne and Falcor, the sole multi-hull that made it to the start line. Martin Jacobson's Crescendo currently leads the Class B boats while David Caso's Silhouette has pole position in Class D.

Silhouette captured the coveted SAIL Bermuda Ocean Cruising Yacht Trophy in the previous Marion to Bermuda Race – a title Hubbard and crew aboard Bermuda Oyster had set their sights upon this year.