the Great Sound was completed over the weekend.

In the Etchells class, veteran skipper Timmy Patton won the Madras Cup, finishing six races with seven points, followed by Steve Hannon in second with 12 and Christian Luthi in third with 18.

The last day of the series, however, belonged to Andreas Lewin. On his first outing for the year and teaming up with sister Paula and Billy McNiven, Lewin won the day in convincing fashion.

Although Patton kept it close for the most part and actually won the first race, he never seemed to be too much of a threat after that.

Lewin shrugged off one of Patton's closest challenges when the two became entangled on the first downwind leg of the last race.

Afterwards a modest Lewin said: "We just stayed true to the compass and we were a little lucky on some of the shifts.'' Veteran dinghy sailor and newest class member Brett Wright also posted strong results before a breakdown forced him to retire in the last race.

Peter Bromby could only watch from the shore, again unable to compete due to the extensive refit his boat is still undergoing.

Competition in the class, which includes some of the Island's other top sailors like Glen Astwood and Adam Barboza, will likely become more fierce as the season unfolds.

In the IOD class, the Larchmont Bowl was won by Penny Simmons, with Larry Davis in second and Craig Davis in third.

In J24s, the Pearl Memorial Trophy was won by Shelagh Tasker. Ricky Hornett and Jon Corless were second and third respectively.

ISLAND TEAM CRUSHED PP Island team crushed Bermuda's table tennis team suffered a whitewash in their opening matches at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan.

The men's went down 3-0 to both Portugal and New Zealand in Group Z2, although they were never expected to do well against such tough opposition.

Against the Portuguese, Curtis Hodgson lost 21-9, 21-5 to Joao Monteiro, Alden Ray 21-8, 21-6 to Ricardo Oliviera and captain Nick Frost 21-7, 21-6 also to Monteiro.

In the New Zealand clash, Ray lost 21-6, 21-7 to Shane Laugesen, Frost 21-10, 21-7 to Peter Jackson and Myron Piper 21-10, 21-10 to Peter Craven.

Bermuda still have matches to play in the singles and doubles events.

COUPER RECORD CONFIRMED ATH Couper record confirmed Bermuda's Ashley Couper has been confirmed as breaking the national 1,500 metres record for the second time in two years.

Couper, competing for Stanford University at the Mt. Sac Relays in Walnut, California, at the weekend, crossed the line in 4:23.05, breaking the previous mark by more than five seconds.

The time also means Couper provisionally qualifies for the prestigious NCAA Championships later this year.