World Championships came to a close.

The competition, in the US Virgin Islands, featured 65 sailors with Eduardo Cordero of Venezuela taking first spot and Jeff Linton of Sarasota, Florida, grabbing third place.

Another Bermudian, Damian Payne, was an impressive seventh overall.

The final two races of the eight-race series featured a classic showdown between Smith and Cordero as Smith entered the day in first place. With conditions better suited for the Venezuelan -- waters in the Gorda Sound were extremely choppy at 15 to 22 knots with sea swells of three to five feet -- Smith slipped early during the opening race.

"Eduardo sails in these kinds of conditions all the time,'' Smith said last night. "In the opening race we came off the line together and I knew it was going to be between us, but he got the upper hand on the first beat and never looked back.'' For Cordero, who brought his own personal coach with him, it was an amazing comeback. For Smith, it was a bitter disappointment.

"I was a little depressed at the end of the day,'' said Smith. "But you get over it.''