Bermuda sailing development coach Paul Doughty admitted that he was "unhappy" with many of the Bermudian performances during the XL Capital Bermuda International Optimist Regatta which concluded earlier this week.

Despite the fact that the 39-strong fleet contained a number of the world's best Optimist sailors, including the eventual winner, two-time world champion Filip Matika of Croatia, Doughty insisted that he had expected more from the local contingent.

"I really do think they could have done better," he said.

"The Bermudian sailors at times demonstrated some very good technical passages of racing but what was very clear is that many of them were not fit enough and their overall vision needs to be greatly improved. When you compete in a regatta of this length and intensity, it is clear that they are not carrying enough fitness to be up there at the top at the moment."

"I'm sorry for the criticism," he continued, "but I hope that by seeing these comments out in public the boys will be spurred on and determined to get fit and be more competitive when they take on world class international opposition again."

The coach did have a few kinder words for Cameron Pimentel, the leading Bermuda competitior, who finished in 11th place overall and was therefore officially crowned national champion. The youngster defied many people's expectations by winning one of the 10 races in the regatta ? the only Bermudian to do so.

"Cameron in the end is the one who stood out," Doughty said. "In terms of his consistency he was far superior to everybody else and he has quite obviously matured in terms of his vision and his tactical thinking."

Doughty made no apologies for his tough stance, arguing that if local youngsters were going to reach their potential, then they would have to be "pushed."

"Our goal is to try to make sure that those who compete at this event are racing at a world class level by the time they are 20-22 years old," he continued.

"I have to say, on the bright side, that the Optimist class, in terms of junior sports in Bermuda, is exceptional in what it is achieving. We are arguably the strongest in the North American region right now. But North America is far behind other regions like South America and Europe and we have to be tough with our juniors if we want them to get to the top level."

Meanwhile, Doughty described Matika as a "very worthy winner" and said he had been impressed over the weekend with the Croatian's "intense" work ethic.

"If you want to see a kid that is committed to his sport, you could not do much better than Filip," he said.

"He has an incredible approach to what he is doing and is absolutely dedicated. That, at the end of the day, is why he is a two-time world champion and he is showing all the local boys just how committed you have to be in order to be the best."

Looking ahead, Doughty revealed that he would be taking a Bermudian team to the Junior Olympics in Miami just after Christmas and in the new year would be preparing an outfit to compete at the prestigious International Optimist Dinghy Association South American Championships in Chile over Easter.