sailors, placing second during the recently completed Sunfish World Championships in the Dominican Republic.

The Bermudian, however, simply couldn't overcome the consistency of arch rival and nemesis Eduardo Cordeiro of Venezuela, who won the regatta for the third time in the last four years.

Yet Smith, champion in 1994, was pleased with the result and especially satisfied with the second place trophy handed him.

"Last year I didn't have a very good regatta, but this year I put in a lot of effort in training and really keyed up for this event,'' said Smith, who was accompanied by three other local Sunfish sailors -- Damian Payne, David Frith and Mickey Berkeley.

"It was a really good regatta sailing-wise, a really nice place to sail and I was pretty happy to get second.

"Eduardo was just too efficient overall, he was exceptionally fast off-wind and a lot of the time I would get good starts and round the weather mark in front of him, but he always seemed to catch me on the run.

"They were using a modified Olympic course, which meant that we only had two full windward legs and three off-wind legs -- two reaches and a run -- so it sort of gave a little advantage to Eduardo, who is a faster off-wind than almost anybody in the class right now. Not having a third full beat takes away the last bit of hard work.'' From the beginning, the Smith versus Cordeiro scenario unfurled on the waters off Boca Chica, with the latter winning the first three races and Smith following in second each time.

Both faltered in race four, Cordeiro placing 32nd and Smith 39th, but the pair returned to prosperity in the fifth, sixth and seventh, Cordeiro notching two `bullets' and a sixth, while Smith's results read 5-8-2.

For his efforts Smith received a fine crafted mahogany replica of the Pinta , one of three boats used by Christopher Columbus during his discovery and conquest mission in and around North America and the Caribbean.

Of course, Cordeiro received the bigger Santa Maria model for his first place finish, while the third place prize, Nina , went to American Jeff Linton.

Cordeiro counted five first place finishes along with a sixth and a 32nd -- which he used as his drop result -- for a total of 93 points for the seven race series, while Smith tallied 21 on the basis of four seconds, a fifth, an eighth -- he threw out the 39th recorded in race four.

Of the other locals Payne fared best, finishing 18th, while Frith ended 44th and Berkeley 88th among the 111 boat fleet that included sailors from 12 countries.

Smith is already looking forward to the next Sunfish World Championships, set to be hosted by Colombia off the coast of Cartagena, situated on the South American country's north-western edge.

He's also hopeful of the class being admitted into the Central American and Caribbean Games, which, he said, could stimulate interest both locally and internationally.

"Things might be looking up for the Sunfish class with there a chance for us to be included,'' said Smith. "It could really spark some life into the class.'' As for his next move, Smith noted there not to be many big regattas on the immediate horizon, leaving him to concentrate on performing almost exclusively in local events during the next year.

GONE WITH THE WIND -- The huge sunfish fleet jockey for position on the waters off Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic during the recent World Championships. Bermuda's Malcolm Smith, a former champion, placed second.