Stevie Dickinson returned home last Saturday following a highly successful Island Games campaign in Rhodes, Greece where he and crew Leatrice Roman captured the silver medal in the Laser Radial class.

And less than 24 hours after touching down on the Island’s shores the veteran skipper jumped into his comet, sailed up the North Shore to the Mid Atlantic Boat Club and in dominant fashion reclaimed the Lawrence (Stickers) Hendrickson Memorial Trophy before sailing back to the East End a contented man.

“I had a bit of sleep, woke up around 7am, went down the yacht club (East End Mini Yacht Club) and got the boat together and then sailed up to Mid Atlantic Boat Club,” Dickinson said yesterday.

It was there where Dickinson underlined his supremacy by scoring three bullets and a second — which he was allowed to discard — to finish three points ahead of perennial rival Rudy Bailey and four ahead of defending champion Gladwin Lambert, who placed second and third overall.

“We had four races with a race to drop, and after the third race it was all over,” Dickinson said.

Lambert threw down the gauntlet by winning the first race, but Dickinson recaptured the form which saw him medal last week in Greece by winning the remaining three races to put the proverbial icing on the cake.

But he didn’t have things all his way competing in shifty conditions.

“Most times I won the start, but it was very shifty. I didn’t lead all of the races as Gladwin (Lambert) won one of course,” Dickinson said. “There were also times when Rudy (Bailey) was in front of me and so I had to work my way back to the front.”

There were also moments when Dickinson seemed to have lady luck on his side.

“The last race Rudy was leading but he went around the mark the wrong way which put me in front of him,” he added. “It was quite unfortunate for him because he was sailing quite fast that day, but I was able to hold him off in the end.”

Dickinson later attributed his dominant performance to application at the helm and his vast knowledge of local sailing conditions as well as his recent experience sailing in the Laser Radial class at the Island Games.

“That was a beautiful experience for me because it seemed as though I finally got a good feel for the boat (Laser Radial) and overall I think I learned a lot over there (in Greece). I have also been putting my head down a bit more and I guess now it’s beginning to pay off,” he said.

And with the Pan-Am Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, just around the corner, Dickinson could not have asked for a better time to hit top stride.

The veteran skipper, who has previous sailing experience competing in South America, heads for Brazil on July 16 with Island Games crew member Roman to compete in the Snipes.

“The Snipe is a boat that I really prefer most as far as international and tactical racing is concerned,” Dickinson said. “I’m just hoping that I get a really good boat, get it tuned up and get out there to get some practice in as well before the tournament begins.

“I’ve sailed in Argentina before but I’m sure Brazil is going to be something completely different. I think the conditions are going to be a lot different.

“I’m certainly up for the challenge and hopefully things go well with the boat and everything else.”