Veteran Bermuda sailor Malcolm Smith finished 15th at the Sunfish World Championships in Curaçao to qualify for this year’s Pan-Am Games.The two final spots for the Pan-Ams in Mexico were up for grabs and three-time Sunfish champion Smith was successful in clinching one while Curaçao took the other.He also won the Masters Division (over 40) title.All other countries in the top 15 had already qualified for the Games which will be held in October.Local sailor Mackenzie Cooper, 16, was also sailing in the regatta but fell victim to the steady 25 knot winds and three metre waves, finishing in 59th place out of the 75 boats.Cooper had come within a whisker of qualifying for Bermuda at the Sunfish Midwinters in March.Brazilian sailor Matheus Dellagnelo was crowned the new world champion before the final race due to his consistently high placing throughout the 11-race regatta which included two bullets in his last on the final day.n Promising young sailors Sam Stan and Benn Smith are the Gold and Silver Fleet Champions of the Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association (BODA) Spring Series.Prizes were presented on Sunday at the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club by BODA president Anthony Bailey, RHADC vice-commodore Alan Williams and BODA sailor development officer Ben Nicholls.Stan was the consistent leader in the Gold Fleet throughout the 29-race series and won by a comfortable 17-point margin.Antonio Bailey was second in the series followed by Makai Joell in third.Stan also picked up BODA’s Sportsmanship Award for an unselfish manoeuvre in a North American Champions team qualifier race in April, when he allowed a competitor to take back his leading position after that sailor had realised that he had sailed past a turning mark after the course had been modified by new race instructions.Smith won the Spring Silver Fleet Series with a total of 34 points in the 25-race series. In second place was Campbell Patton with 47 points and in third place was Kieran Swan with 52 points.Smith also picked up the Spring Series Most Improved Award and will graduate to the BODA Gold Fleet this Fall.BODA president Bailey congratulated all the sailors who participated in the Spring Series and wished everyone well with their various summer sailing endeavours which includes competition in Bermuda, North America and Europe.Stan, Rory Caslin, Chase Cooper and Michael Barit will be representing Bermuda at the IODA North American Championships in Long Beach California later this month.n Evergreen Bermuda sailor Penny Simmons finished tenth at the recently completed International One Design World Championships, held at the Eastern Yacht Club, Marblehead, Massachusetts.