Bermudian sailor Jesse Kirkland's St. Mary's College Seahawks were atop the leaderboard after the first day of the ICSA/GILL National Championships currently being held in San Francisco and hosted by Stanford University and the St. Francis Yacht Club.

Kirkland and his team-mates were 27 points ahead of second-placed Georgetown University and 16 other schools who made it through the semi-final round held in May in Boston.

The race for the most coveted title in college sailing is regarded as one of the highlights of any sailor's school year and, in many cases, their college sailing career.

Kirkland, who competed in the A-Division, along with his crew of sophomores Madeline Jackson, Megan Magill and junior Mike Kuschner consistently finished in the top five during the course of the day to keep the Seahawks at the head of the pack.

Yale and St. Mary's set the bar high in the opening races as Yale junior skipper Thomas Barrows and crewman Blair Belling won the first two races in the A-Division while St. Mary's sophomore skipper Michael Menninger along with with junior crew Kelly Wilbur racked up a matching score in B-Division.

Menninger and Wilbur then added their third bullet in as many races.

Adding in senior crew Jennifer Chamberlain's contributions in B-Division, St. Mary's closed day one of the competition with 61 points overall and a 27-point lead over second-placed Georgetown University, the current leaders in B-Division.

Yale sit third overall with 96 points, followed by the US Naval Academy with 125, and Roger Williams University with 130.

Under cloudy skies, racers who over-adjusted their strategy for the lighter than expected and shifty conditions earned attention from the judges who doled out penalties for kinetics, while three protests resulted in three disqualifications on day one of the three-day championship event.

n Five boats remaining in the six-boat fleet competing in the seventh edition of the Charleston to Bermuda Race were struggling to make headway on Monday, according to organisers.

Crews were squeezing out what performance they could from winds that hadn't surpassed 10 knots since Saturday afternoon.

As Monday dawned, their progress diminished even further as the winds faltered. None of the boats were averaging more than 1.8 knots of speed in calms waters.

Spirit of South Carolina was reported to be 384.6 nautical miles from the finish fine on 777-mile course.

Dave and Shelly Warters' six-person crew on board the couple's Able Apogee 50 Cadence, in second place, said in a satellite phone report that they were regularly changing headsails to try and milk as much performance out of their 41-foot sloop as possible.

Though the going has been slow for everyone since the boats emerged from the Gulf Stream some time late Saturday, the passage has also been pleasant for many. Jay Cook on board Tohidu checked in via phone on Sunday afternoon to say that he and his crew had seen two other competitors. Tohidu crossed paths with Grateful Red, which was two miles astern, and Lee Edwards chartered Little Harbor 63 Spray, which was two miles ahead.

The National Data Buoy Centre forecast for the region indicated that winds would remain light for at least the next two days.

The Charleston to Bermuda Race is sponsored by Bermuda Tourism, Gosling's Rum, the Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel, and Bauer International. The event is open to sailboats 30 feet and longer.