Bermuda's Malcolm Smith finished second in the Sunfish World Championships this week.

Only champion Sebastian Mera, of the Dominican Republic, in the 100-boat regatta, managed to better Smith, a three-time world champion who has finished runner-up for the fifth time.

Mera finished with just 26 points, compared to Smith's 60 in the ten-race series, while Paul-Jon Patin, of the US, finished third with 63 points.

A 12-race series had been planned, but winds in excess of 30 knots caused Tuesday's schedule to be cancelled.

Smith said last night that Monday and Wednesday's strong winds had been more to his liking than the virtually windless conditions on Thursday's final day of racing.

"We don't get to practise in 100-boat fleets back home so I was really happy to finish second," said Smith, speaking from New Jersey last night.

Smith started with three third-place finishes on the first day and followed that up with a thrid, two sixths and a tenth on day two.

In the light air of the third day, he started with a fourth, but then registered a 22nd and a 30th.

He dismissed the notion that the final-day conditions had cost him the world title, saying: "It was the same for everyone."