James Doughty and Gareth Williams left their best until last to grab an against the odds triumph at the CORK Regatta in Canada.

The Island pair took top honours in the 29er class this week after coming into the final day well adrift of their rivals at the event in Kingston, Ontario.

The 17-year-olds were fully 13 points behind Canada's Stephan Waldie and Louis Phillippe but managed to put together three stellar races, tie their opponents in the points standings and then take the title thanks to a greater number of wins - five to the Canadians' four.

The sailors arrived back on the Island yesterday and wasted no time in heading for the familiar surroundings of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club where they received congratulations from friends and well-wishers.

"We did great overall. We didn't expect to win," said Doughty.

"We had a really good day going into the last three races, while the previous leaders had a terrible one. We won the first race, finished second in the second and first in the last, while they had finishes of sixth, eighth and third."

The pair knew they would have to work hard against tough opposition and conditions if they were to do well.

"Going into Kingston we figured we could place among the first five with a bit of luck, but we knew the competition would be stiff," said Doughty. "On top of that, the course was very challenging. The conditions were crazy the first two days - the wind went up and down all the time. There was one day with no wind and we couldn't race and there were two days with a breeze of about 15 knots.

"As the races went on and we climbed up to third into the second day we aimed to win it. When the leader had all sorts of difficulty we fortunately were able to make significant ground."

The win, though deserved, was all the more surprising when the fact that the Bermudians have not taken part in any competitive racing this summer is taken into consideration, the pair having to withdraw from the North American Championships after Williams was injured.

The last time they teamed up was late last year to compete in the Youth World Championships and the Orange Bowl in Florida, Doughty's schooling in England making it impossible to return home as often as he would like to join Williams on the water.

Neither is aware of what lies ahead of them in sailing in coming months, but they do plan to debut in the 49er sailboat in the future, the older brother of the 29er. Switching to the 49er will enable them to aim for their goal of qualifying for the Olympics in 2008.

"I guess you can say that is one long-term goal, but another would be to go to the Worlds or any other big international regatta in 29er," said Doughty. "However, it would be interesting to make a complete change to the 49er in order to test ourselves in a bigger and more professional class."

With Doughty off to school soon the pair won't see each other until Christmas when they join ranks once again to test their mettle at the Orange Bowl in Florida.