Eugene (Penny) Simmons last week.

The Bermudian skipper picked up his third IOD-class world championship on Friday -- but not before a frightening tumble overboard during the fourth race of the six-race regatta in Rye, New York.

"We had our ups and downs,'' a laughing Simmons said yesterday from Baltimore, where he was spending a few days with friends before returning to the Island today.

Up, of course, is how Simmons and his crew of wife Sacha, Jay Hooper, Harry Powell and Steven King felt after winning the first and fifth races to finish just one quarter of a point ahead of Norway's Jan Peter Roed in the overall standings.

But down is where Simmons, 58, ended up following a bizarre accident on Wednesday in which the boom on his boat knocked him backwards into the dark, cool waters of Long Island Sound. Simmons said he was steering with the tiller between his knees as he tried to clear a rope from the boom when a sudden gust left him trailing 20 feet behind his boat with the rest of the fleet bearing down on him.

"Fortunately I had the presence of mind to grab the sheet (rope) as I went over,'' Simmons said. Powell realised the boat was missing its skipper, taking over the helm and stopping the boat so that Simmons, who wasn't wearing a life jacket, could crawl back on board.

"Let me tell you, I was some kind of exhausted,'' said Simmons. "It wasn't a pretty scene.'' Sitting second at the time of the mishap, the boat fell back into last place, although Simmons recovered to cross the finish line in fifth.

Simmons said it was the first time he had fallen overboard in his years as a competitive sailor. He learned his lesson, too. Shortly after arriving back on shore, he purchased a new survival suit with a built-in lifejacket. "I would recommend that everybody does this, especially in unfamiliar waters,'' he said.

Throwing away a ninth-place finish in the second race -- the result of a penalty for starting too soon -- Simmons ended up with 14.5 points and his third International One Design crown, to go along with others won in 1985 in San Francisco and ten years later in Norway.

Roed, who won the third race and was second in the fifth, had 14.75 points, while John Burnham won the last race to pull into third with 16.75.

PENNY SIMMONS -- fell overboard but recovered to claim his third IOD crown.