is once again active.

The class held its first national championships since 1993 on Monday in a low-key, one-day event -- and now gets ready to host the 1997 world championships.

After losing its storage and launching facilities at the US Naval Annex in September 1994, Tornado endured a two-year hiatus. Now West End Development Corp. is providing storage and launching at Dockyard and informal sailing has begun.

Bermuda has been granted next November's world championships, to be run out of -- and raced off of -- Dockyard. The 1986 Tornado World Championships were also held in Bermuda.

The Tornado has again been selected as the Olympic Catamaran for Sydney 2000.

Jay Kempe and Jackie Stevenson won the Bermuda championship with a perfect four wins. Alan Burland and Cris Nash were second, followed by Gordon Burland and his 11-year-old son, Tim.

CLOSE CALL -- Greenwich Propane and her crew of (from left) Philippe Oulhen, Gilles Campan, Bruno Dubois and skipper John Barry fell ten minutes shy of the record for fastest Newport to Bermuda crossing.