A year ago Klaartje Zuiderbaan was at a crucial crossroads ? should she choose sailing or her career as a civil engineer?

After agonising deliberation, the Dutch woman?s passion for sport won out over a lucrative job as interface manager for the high-speed railroad system being built between Amsterdam and Paris.

Yesterday, she realised how right her decision was.

Savouring a priceless moment, Zuiderbaan laid claim to the Cicada International Women?s Match Racing Championship with a peerless performance in Hamilton Harbour that saw her oust her semi-final and final rivals ? Bermuda?s Paula Lewin and Jenny Axhede of Sweden respectively ? by compelling 3-0 margins.

?It?s great. I?m really happy. We were quite happy getting into the finals to get a chance to race the boys tomorrow (today) but winning is really nice,? declared the 32-year-old, acknowledging she was surprised to defeat Lewin so smoothly.

?We got together for the first time here as a team and it worked out really well. Everybody did their job so well and we worked nicely together. I have been sailing most of the year full-time and I guess it shows.?

The skipper and her crew ? her sister Tryntje Zuiderbaan, Nanda Nengerman, Jetske Roodvoets and American Carrie Howe ? could not contain their exuberance on hearing the gun to signal victory in the third race against Axhede.

Jumping up and down on the limited deck of their International One Design (IOD) boat, they screamed with delight and hugged and ?high-fived? each other.

Almost lost for words and very emotional, Zuiderbaan threw her hands in the air and exclaimed: ?The starts went pretty well...I don?t know everything just went so well. We always had the shifts right and we just knew what to do.

?I can?t describe this. It?s a really big event and it?s fabulous to win it.?

Given last year?s dilemma, the seasoned skipper said this was all worth it.

?It was a really nice job and it was hard to quit it for sailing but I?m really happy I did,? said the new champion who finished third in 2002 and placing poorly last year.

Condemned to second best for the second successive year, Axhede was clearly disappointed in the outcome.

?We wanted to have a better match against Klaartje but she was in excellent form today,? said the 26-year-old Swedish skipper.

However, she was still smiling as she contemplated today?s opening round of the King Edward VII Gold Cup against three-time Americas Cup winner Russell Coutts of New Zealand.

?We?re happy we?re still in the game. Of course racing against Russell is an honour and we hope to have a great match against him. He has won the Americas Cup three times and he has done a lot of match racing,? said Axhede.

?It will be great. We?re hoping for a good day.?

Zuiderbaan, too, is eager to battle another Americas Cup legend Dennis Conner of the USA.

?It?s quite strange. He?s someone you read about and you never even meet. We sailed well today and I hope we have still got it tomorrow.?

Asked if she would be nervous, she replied confidently: ?We can?t be nervous, if not we won?t sail well.?

Meanwhile Giulia Conti who lost her semi-final 2-3 to Axhede and her Petit Final 1-2 versus Lewin was buoyed by the experience despite faltering on the last day.

?We had five beautiful races with Jenny ? always tight and always passing each other,? noted the 18-year-old who was nosed out of the final by a half-metre.

In the Petit Final, she said that incurring a penalty in the decisive race ended her quest for third place.