Antoine Wingood is living proof that good things come to those who wait.Prior to last weekend the 53-year-old Comet sailor had never won a major regatta as a skipper in his own right.But that all changed as the self-employed upholster won West Sailboat Club’s (WSBC) Leon Wilson Memorial Regatta in the Great Sound sailing with star sailor Stevie Dickinson as crew.Together the pair scored three bullets to finish four points ahead of nearest rivals Gladwin Lambert and Greg Proctor. Tre Joinville and Peter McLaughlin rounded off the top three boats in the racing fleet.Wingood said getting clean starts and Dickinson’s expertise proved to be the key to the team’s success.“The most important thing was getting good starts and if I did anything wrong Stevie told me,” the Somerset resident said. “Going around the racing marks I made a few mistakes and Stevie barked at me.“Stevie gave me a few important tips that made a big difference and it was a big learning experience for me. I told him at the end of the day I have locked his advice in the computer and ain’t going to forget what he taught me.“Stevie made a few adjustments to the boat and also showed me how to read the waves going off wind, and that’s how we were able to distance ourselves from the rest of the fleet.”Last weekend’s rare triumph was Wingood’s biggest as a skipper in over four decades of sailing.“This is the first big one and has been a long time in the making,” said Wingood, who started sailing at age seven with newly crowned North American Comet Championship champion Rudy Bailey. “I have a new set of sails which also makes a big difference.“Everyone else had crisp sails and I had these old beat up ones and I couldn’t hang with them. But now I have a new motor on board and things are fallen into place for me.”Wingood previously won regattas as crew for long time friend and WSBC team-mate Bailey.These days the veteran sailor is enjoying a new lease on his sailing career competing with new crew Fred Bulford.“Fred has inspired me and is the driving force behind my success,” Wingood said. “He always keeps me abreast of what we have to do in the boat.”Bulford added: “It’s a privilege sailing with Antoine and he and I go a long way back — we are both cut from the same jib.“Antoine was the most improved sailor last season so we are trying to add to that.”Bulford, who has also sailed with Bailey in the past, missed last weekend’s regatta through work commitments.Comet sailing continues tomorrow with the Lawrence Stickers Hendrickson Regatta hosted by Mid Atlantic Boat and Sports Club.