A soft-spoken 11-year-old Bermudian outshone 147 other junior sailors from around the world to win the New England Optimist Championship on Wednesday in Westport, Connecticut.

Sean Bouchard proved too hot to handle as he romped to victory in seven of his nine races at Cedar Point Yacht Club to wrest the title. Lying in second place after the second of three days of racing, he put the matter beyond doubt by winning all three races on the final day to finish on 19 points.

"After the second day I realised that I was only a few points behind first (place) and I thought I could probably win.

"I was very nervous but I got help from the coach (Paul Doughty). He was telling me to relax and I took his advice and it worked. I'm happy. I feel great," Bouchard told The Royal Gazette yesterday, adding that another coach Tom Coleman also played a part in his success.

The Mount St. Agnes student described the event as "definitely competitive", noting that the conditions were a challenge.

"There were light to moderate winds for most of the races but there were a lot of waves so you couldn't really sail too fast upwind."

Bouchard, who has been sailing competitively for two years, will next turn his attention to Bermuda's trials for the Optimist World Championships which take place next June in the Canary Islands.

The 148-boat fleet was divided into four groups with each rotating in racing against another for a total of 18 races.

Bermuda had more than just Bouchard's success to toast as Jesse Kirkland finished third with 28 points and five bullets. In addition, Oliver Riihiluoma, Elija Simmons and Williams Hutchings placed 13th, 16th and 38th respectively; each with one victory. Bermuda's sailors therefore won 15 of the 18 races!

Other Bermudian finishers were: Cameron Pimentel, 30th; Alexander Dill, 40th; Matthew Sinclair, 43rd; Mikado Burchall, 50th; Eleanor Gardner, 59th; Ryan Saraiva, 64th; Peter Miller, 72nd, and Madeline Gardner, 74th.

Keeping up the pace, Annabel Gray won the 38-boat Green Fleet with Alistair Hutchings finishing 11th and Malachi Simmons 13th.