It was the one that didn't get away.

After losing sight of the `catch' that had been within his grasp on more than one occasion, Malcolm Smith yesterday finally boated the `fish' that had eluded him.

The final day of the Sunfish World Championships in the Great Sound saw the Bermudian reel in defending champion Eduardo Cordero of Venezuela, the leader entering the championship series -- three races -- and claim the ultimate prize...a world title.

"It's really a high,'' said a beaming Smith, as wife Julie and supporters besieged the new champion. "It feels so good, it's going to take awhile for it to sink in, but I'm just on top of the world.'' "He's the man,'' shouted close friend Wesley Tucker, proclaiming the obvious.

However, his comments were very much on target, as Smith stood tall on a day when many failed or simply caved in under the might of sometimes severe conditions presented by Mother Nature.

Wind gusts in the region of 30 knots at times buffeted the fleet, to the point where at the end only 23 of an initial 40 boats remained involved.

The first race was a disaster for Smith, who appeared out of sorts with the breeze as he struggled to 12th place, a result he would use as his discard.

Each competitor was allowed one discard out of nine races.

Mental regrouping and an altering of the rigging on the sleek one-man craft appeared to do the trick, with Smith rebounding to win race two and surging ahead of Cordero (third and sixth) by two points.

Cordero had led by one and a quarter points at the start of the day, seven and a quarter compared to eight and a half for Smith.

Following a general recall on the first attempt at sailing the final race, Smith got off to a solid start, while the usually reliable Cordero was buried in the fleet.

Cordero, a sailing instructor with the Venezuelan navy, although able to make up remarkable ground, never fully recovered and was left to rue chances lost.

Smith, after leading for parts of the race placed third to finish on 171 points compared to 231 for Cordero, who was seventh.

"I'm a little bit (disappointed) as I came here for a win and I was (winning) until the last day,'' said Cordero, who had earlier stated his goal of becoming the first to win the regatta in consecutive years. "I'm disappointed with me, but very happy for the class, because it means it is a very difficult class to win twice in a row.

"I have to say that Malcolm Smith did a great series and he deserves to win.

He's a winner and the new world champion, I'm happy for him.'' Almost displacing Cordero from even grabbing second was Paul-Jon Patin of the United States. Patin's last two results were second and first, enabling him to finish on 251 points.

"I'm very happy about the way I sailed, I never had a race out of the top seven, which is as good as it had to be to win in Houston where I won two years ago,'' said Patin, a beneficiary of the more powerful winds with his larger size. "But Malcolm sailed very well today.

"Regretfully I broke a rudder this morning, but I'm still happy. The committee did an excellent job and I really enjoyed the competition.'' But the day belonged to Smith, left to celebrate the thrill of a dream come true, one which seemed would never come to fruition after prior failures and near misses.

"I was worn out, there was a lot of pressure. It was a little home water advantage. I had a lot of friends here to back me up, they were really pushing me and telling me I could do it and that helps,'' added Smith before once again feeling the ocean as he was unceremoniously pushed overboard by Tucker.

Bermuda, in fact, had three locals place among the top 10, with Stevie Dickinson (343 ) also enjoying a fine week in Sunfish boats, finishing a creditable fourth in his first foray into the class in several years. Paula Lewin (45), despite capsizing during the final outing, claimed seventh.

Well known local sailor among the bigger boats and former world champion Peter Bromby may have summed it up best for Smith at the end, saying: "It's party time...plain and simple!''