SAILING

Comet sailor Rudy Bailey will be looking to go one better when he competes at next month's Comet International Championships in Maryland.

The veteran skipper finished runner-up in his last appearance in the event and again finds himself among the pre-race favourites heading into this year's championships.

Bailey is fresh off an impressive showing in New Jersey last month where for the second straight year he placed second at the North American Comet Championships – an event he has won on multiple occasions.

Sailing with American crew Emily Rogers, Bailey managed four top three finishes in the seven-race, one-throwout series contested in variable conditions. However, it wasn't enough to prevent American rival and defending champion Talbot Ingram from retaining the coveted crown.

"I would've prefered to finish first but I did the best I could and I think that was good," said Bailey. "It felt fantastic coming second . . . it actually felt as though we won the regatta because we had a very good series."

Meanwhile, also flying the Island's flag abroad last month was veteran Etchells sailor Tim Patton and crew Patrick Siewers and Christian Monachon who placed 38th in an 83-boat fleet at the Etchells World Championships in Chicago.

The local sailors endured fluctuating fortunes in the windy city but finished the event on a strong note by placing sixth in the sixth and final race.

It was Patton's 19th appearance at the Etchells Worlds where his best finish to date is fourth.

"All in all it was a satisfactory outing and I was very pleased with our performance," he said. "Crew work was good and we learned a lot together sailing in predominantly light air and choppy waters."

TENNIS

Number two seed Sasha Fisher secured her spot in the final of the Ladies' A Singles with a convincing win over Liz Hartley 6-0, 6-1 on Wednesday.

Men's A Singles top seed Andy Bray enjoyed a convincing victory over Michael Lindsay Bailey 6-0, 6-1. Bray will now face Gavin Manders, the number four seed, in the semi-finals.

Also in the Men's A, number three seed David Thomas secured his spot in the semis against second seed Jenson Bascome, after defeating Jacob Trott 6-1, 6-2.

Top seeds Ashley Brooks and Jacob Trott were upset by Tara Lambert and Romar Douglas in the Open Mixed Doubles. Lambert and Douglas won 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).

Number two seeds Zoe Fisher and Jenson Bascome had a tough first set but won their match against Suzie Wakefield and David Thomas 7-5, 6-1. Sasha Fisher and Gavin Manders defeated Jackie Lambert and Nicholas Butterfield.

BOWLING

Many of the 60-plus bowlers taking part in the annual American Airlines tournament at Warwick Lanes are beginning to conquer the new synthetic lanes.

Dean Lightbourn topped the list in recent action with a 678 scratch series that included games of 234, 190, 254. He also finished the night with a handicap series of 723 to also win the top handicap prize.

Sandra Ford finished the night in second place with a 702. Finishing in second place in the scratch division was Patrice Tucker who rolled a a 600 scratch series with games of 157, 213 and 230.

The top 15 qualifiers this week were Dean Lightbourn, Sandra Ford, Patrice Tucker, Terrylynn Jones , Frances Trott, Rochelle Harvey , Lillian Wilson, Gladwin Harvey, Aesop Smith, Karen Simmons, Gregory White, Michelle Simons, David Abraham, Kathryn Christopher and Antoine Jones.

FOOTBALL

Jon Beard will once again take the reins as chairman of Bermuda Football Association's (BFA) technical committee, it was announced yesterday.

The move will allow the previous chairman, president Larry Mussenden, to step up as chairman of the referee's committee, replacing former incumbent Charles Clarke.