Fitted Dinghy skipper Somers Kempe and his crew on Contest III sailed away with the prestigious Coronation Cup on Sunday after fighting off a spirited challenge from Elizabeth II, skippered by Michael Lewis.

The victorious crew included veteran Roger Mello, Tim Jrozen, Lars Simmons, Cameron Hill and Andy Annatt.

After holding only a narrow three and three quarter point lead after the conclusion of racing on July 27, Contest III began a hot streak which saw her win the next five races including two on Sunday to clinch the cup with a score of 63 points to Elizabeth's 54.

Victory IV, skippered by Michael Oatley, finished in third place with a score of 42 while Challenger II, with Mike Taylor at the helm, brought up the rear with 23 points.

Kempe said yesterday he was delighted to win the summer-long competition, but warned that he may have to make changes to his crew in the future if the boat was to continue to be competitive in the coming years.

"Yes, we are all thrilled," he said.

"It was looking pretty close a couple of race days ago but our performance over the last five races was very good and winning them all is an achievement in itself.

"Over the course of the competition, we always tried to stay calm and collected around the course and be patient. Sometimes you force the issue rather than waiting for things to happen which does not always work out during a race.

"We kept a good core group together and by the end we had developed a good understanding in the boat which served us well.

"Our future plans are going to be finalised soon. We had a great time this year and really enjoyed sailing together. But next season we will need to concentrate on getting some younger blood into the boat.

"Looking around, Victory IV has a very good youth programme and we need to do the same if we are going to compete three or four years down the line."

Meanwhile, in the annual two-boat race between the St.George's Dinghy Club and the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club, Victory IV, despite finishing below Elizabeth II in the Coronation Cup standings, overcame the Hamilton-based boat to take the Jubilee Cup.

Zander Kirkland finished 35th and 30th in yesterday's Laser regatta races at the Olympic Sailing World Championships in Cadiz, Spain.

The finishes mean the Bermudian is now in 124th place with 197 points.

Gustava Lima of Portugal leads the way on ten points.

Meanwhile, Tim Patton, William Thompson and Robert Billingham placed 55th out of 93 boats in Sunday's first race of the Etchells World Championship in Greenwich, Connecticut.