There is a saying: "The only constant in life is change...'' Fortunately for Robert Bell the adage does not always apply in sailing.

All week the Floridian was a picture of stability and such consistency bore rich reward when he emerged yesterday as Etchells champion on the final day of International Race Week.

Bell never won a single race. However he and his crew's unwavering determination and uncanny ability to place among the leaders during each of six outings while the competition vacillated allowed him to achieve overall victory.

Five third place finishes and a second gave the Miami Fleet 20 racer the slenderest of margins over Bermudian ace Tim Patton -- 14 points compared to 141 .

Patton, who had two firsts, and a low of eighth, entered yesterday needing to beat Bell by at least two positions to take the crown, but the American clung to his stern like a newborn to it's mother's breast, shadowing his counterpart throughout.

In the end Patton placed second, but in finishing third Bell had achieved his goal.

The race was actually won by Graham Bailey of England, but his was merely cosmetic covering to the battle that raged behind.

Reflecting on the week, Bell understandably noted it as an extremely enjoyable one, but most importantly "consistent''.

As for the duel with Patton, he said that he had serious doubts regarding his ability to hold on.

"Well, we never thought we would (stay close enough), because he had a big lead on us during the first leg and then we finally whittled it down and at one point were ahead of him and put him into a tacking duel to distance him from the leader and covered him for a few tacks,'' said Bell.

The overall win was a far cry from a year ago when Bell endured a dreadful regatta, finishing 10th, with a best placing of sixth.

That in mind he enlisted the services of his conqueror Peter Bromby as crew, a move which ultimately proved golden.

"We came here the last two years and did horribly and quite frankly I decided that if I couldn't beat the Bermudians I might as well have one join us, and I have to give a lot of the credit to Peter Bromby,'' continued Bell.

"He's a tremendous tactician. We called him coach most of the time and we learned a lot from Peter, both about Bermuda and sailing here. Having Peter and my home crew of Skip Vashon, who did an excellent job on the foredeck, paid off.'' A major surprise engaged the International One Design (IOD) Class as Penny Simmons was denied the Norwegian Series `B' title.

Marblehead sailor Greg Mancusi-Ungaro proved Simmons' nemesis for the second consecutive day, seizing second place in the lone race sailed, while Simmons was fourth for the second time in two days and forced to surrender the crown.

Mancusi-Ungaro took the series with five and a half points compared to 103 for Simmons, while Brian Young (203 ) held on for third.

"Racing Penny in his home waters is a real challenge and taking one from him means that this was our week. At the end of it the cards went our way. It was great racing,'' said Mancusi-Ungaro, who benefited greatly from having multiple IOD Worlds champion Bill Widnall aboard, along with Laurie Fullerton, Rachel Higgins and Peter Calligani.

Simmons needed to beat Mancusi-Ungaro by at least three places to secure the `B' series and third consecutive `triple crown', but was done in by a bad start that saw him buried in the middle of the fleet. Nevertheless, the Bermudian still walked away with the overall Vrengen Gold Cup, as well as the `A' series.

The other big boat class decided yesterday witnessed John Alofsin pace the J-24 fleet, winning race seven and the overall with 91 points, ahead of Stuart Jardine (121 ) and last year's winner Michael Emery (203 ).

Among the small boats Alex Pline and wife Lisa sailed away with the hotly contested Snipes division, securing matters with a third in the opening race.

The Plines, second in 1994, finally attained their ultimate goal, dismissing the challenges of local favourite Malcolm Smith and fellow American Gonzo Diaz.

"Staying consistent was really the game plan, not getting too crazy and just trying to stay in there. We finished up with three thirds after that, so we stuck to our game plan and having Junior on the rail helped us out a little,'' said Alex, referring to the additional weight carried by his pregnant wife.

"Bermuda is a very special place for us because we met here in 1982 and got engaged here a year later. This has become quite a family affair for us,'' said Lisa.

As expected Stevie Dickinson and crew Wesley Tucker capped off a stellar week with a pair of `bullets', shooting down all challengers in the Comet Class.

In the JY15 Class Tom Dailey and Kate Brennan took honours, with Brennan taking the tiller for the last race, passing former 1984 Olympic 470 gold medallist Lynn Shore on the second beat and enabling them to earn a fifth race win.

Adam Barboza ended Craig Davis' challenge in the Lasers with a sixth race win that allowed him to maintain first overall, with Davis second and Christian Luthi a close third.

NUMBER ONE -- Stevie Dickinson (left) and crew Wesley Tucker signal their position in the Comet Class.

GETTING A GRIP -- American John Alofsin and his crew of Tom Tompkins, Stewart Silvestri, Ralph Fischer and Howard Samuels on their way to victory in Gripper in the J-24 Class yesterday.