Bermuda?s young sailors capped off a magnificent week at the Optimist North American Championships yesterday with Elijah Simmons lifting the overall individual crown and four of his Island team-mates finishing in the top ten.

The latest success came on the heels of Bermuda?s number one team clinching the North American Team Championship earlier this week to add to the South American title they won in Chile back in April.

Some 15 Bermuda sailors have been competing this week against 13 other countries off the Texas Corinthian Yacht Club in Kemah, Texas. And between them they?ve virtually completed a clean sweep.

Final standings in the individual fleet racing saw Simmons on top of the podium with Sean Bouchard finishing fourth, Joshua Greenslade fifth, Oliver Riihiluoma seventh and Jordan Saints tenth.

As a result of those standings, Bermuda won overall country aggregate honours with 305 points followed by USA (398), Mexico (548), Japan (549), Argentina (746), Brazil (747), Germany (802), Peru (838) and Canada (1440).

Earlier this week Simmons, Bouchard, Riihiluoma, Peter Miller and Cameron Pimentel combined to win the team racing competition.

Other Bermuda placings in the individual fleet standings were: William Hutchings (20th), Miller (21st), James Anfossi (25th), Ryan Saraiva (31st), Pimentel (44th), Eleanor Gardner (49th), Jason Saints (76th), Martin Finegan (87th), Ben Bernardo (104th) and Campbell Duffy (108th).

John Gardner, president of BODA said last night: ?We are very proud of all our young sailors who have done so well at this prestigious event.

?The results that we have achieved in the North American Championship and in the South American Championship earlier this year proves that Bermuda leads the way in international youth sailing.

?For such a small country, we are producing some of the best Optimist sailors in the world.?

The team return to Bermuda today when many of them will immediately begin their preparations for the Optimist World Championships in Ecuador later this month followed by the European Championships in Sweden in early August.