Bermuda's AJ Crane and American crew Kristen Tysell sailed away with the coveted Gerald C.Miller Trophy as Tufts University captured their first North American Women's Inter-Collegiate Sailing Championship in four years on Wednesday.

Crane and Tysell led the 18-boat regatta from start to finish in a three-day event which saw all the sailors negotiate fog, light rain, choppy seas and strong easterly winds on Lake St.Clair in Michigan.

Crane, daughter of Royal Bermuda Yacht Club commodore Les Crane, is currently in her junior year at the university.

Mid-Atlantic powerhouses St.Mary's College and Old Dominion University finished second and third respectively.

The Jumbos last seized the event in 1999 while Wednesday's triumph marked the school's eighth women's championship overall.

Crane and Tysell dominated in the A Division and with 62 points won their group by a comfortable 15 points, sailing onboard Vanguard 420s.

A surprised Tufts' coach, Ken Legler, later attributed the young duo's success to "a speed advantage throughout the regatta."

Seniors Clare Dooley, Caroline Hall and Taylor Fallon placed fourth in the B Division with 97 points.

For her winning achievement, Crane was named an All-American skipper one year after receiving honourable mention as a women's skipper.

Second placed finishers St.Mary's managed to keep Crane and Tysell on their toes with some close racing but in the end fell short and had to be content with the runners-up spot.

Old Dominion were last year's winners of the regatta.

According to Crane, hours of practice at Martha's Vineyard off the east coast of Massachusetts prior to the start of this week's championships paid off handsomely.

"I think the reason why we sailed really fast was because we practised a lot in choppy waters the week before we entered this race. The conditions there were very similar and we practised there for an entire week," said Crane from Michigan yesterday.

"The first day of the regatta was beautiful. It was sunny with light to medium winds but because Grosse Point Yacht Club, where we were sailing, has a large sea wall on the outside, whenever the wind blows a bit there would be huge standing waves and they were very tough," she added.

"We never trailed from the start, though things got a little closer towards the end. It was fun. I just started sailing with Kristen earlier this year and we've been sailing together ever since really well."

Crane finished third in the prestigious championships last year with a different crew. She is a former Optimist sailor locally and has been active in the sport for the past nine years.

However, Crane had little time to celebrate her latest triumph yesterday as she took back to the water to compete in the Co-Ed National Sailing Championships at the same venue. Crane will also compete in Saturday's Co-Ed Dinghy Championships in Michigan.

The Bermudian along with her team-mates were formally presented with the Gerald C.Miller Trophy during a gala banquet where she was also named an All-American to join two-time All-American senior team-mate Caroline Hall.