team placed in the top half of the fleet at the recently concluded Optmist Worlds in Spain.

Jesse Kirkland placed an impressive 39th and James Doughty 82nd in a huge fleet of 252 representing 62 countries.

Jonathan Kempe came home 101st while Husayn Brown placed 172nd and Alan Frith 175th in the week-long regatta on the waters off La Coruna.

Kirkland, Doughty and Kempe all improved by over 100 positions on their previous year's performance. And Brown, while unusually large for an Optimist sailor at 135-lbs, improved on his 1999 placing by 50 positions.

Included in Doughty's results were a second and sixth place finish among fleets of around 70. The regatta had to be divided into four separate fleets each day in order to accommodate the huge entry.

Bermuda's coach, Argentinian Pablo Weber, said he had noticed a big improvement among the Bermudians, particularly with their speed, fitness and boat handling.

Zander Kirkland has finished in 10th place among a fleet of 107 taking part at the US Laser Radial National Championships in Brandt Beach, New Jersey.

Kirkland put together finishes of 11-4-9-15-17-25-14. Another local sailor, William Thompson, placed 77th.

Kirkland will now head for Buffalo, New York where he will take part in the North American Radials from August 10-14.

Smooth sailing: Bermuda's Jesse Kirkland (83) finished 39th overall and Jonathan Kempe (44) placed 101st at the Optimist Worlds which recently concluded in La Coruna, Spain.