Following some recent disappointing fleet-racing results, Bermuda?s Paula Lewin saw her chance of winning the Women?s Match Racing World Championship blown away by the wind on Saturday.

Deadlocked 2-2 with American Betsy Alison in the best-of-five semi-finals ? and with the decisive fifth race to determine who would advance to the final later that afternoon ? the Island?s top female skipper and her three rivals vying for the crown were frustrated as the wind died off around 2 p.m. with racing incomplete on the final day.

Given that both semi-finals were tied 2-2 (the other between American Sally Barkow and Frenchwoman Claire Leroy), final standings were determined based on how the four semi-finalists placed during the preliminary double round-robin competition in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, USA.

Through this system, Barkow emerged as the new world champion with Alison the runner-up and Leroy and Lewin, third and fourth respectively.

Sixteen international crews competed in the regatta, hosted by Eastport Yacht Club and sailed in J-22 sloops.

In last week?s double round-robin phase ? where they sailed each other once in each round ? Barkow boasted the best showing with results of 11-4 and 12-3 to lead the preliminary standings as the best eight sailors advanced to the quarter-finals.

Lewin, 32, was the seventh of the eight to qualify with a 9-6 record in the first round-robin series and an 8-7 record in the second series. Alison finished both round-robins 10-5 while Leroy achieved 8-7 and 11-4 results.

Lewin, who had Peta Lewin, Lisa Neasham and Leatrice Roman as her crew, defeated Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen of Denmark 2-1 in the best-of-three quarter-finals to earn her semi-final berth.