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It was a case of the South of Perth skipper snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, when he was leading the third and deciding race of the final, but was penalized for an infringement, then received a second penalty at the finish while trying to exonerate the first.

In the final series MIRSKY had won the first match, coming from behind to take the point, he nearly repeated the exercise in the second heat, only losing by less than a boat's length, the decider was more a case of SWINTON's mistakes than MIRSKY's brilliance.

Speechless

A thrilled MIRSKY said when he came ashore, 'I'm speechless, I'm over the moon, everyone is coming up to us, it means that we've stepped it up to another level, winning is so much more than coming second.'

The sail off for third and fourth place was a battle of the Sydneysides, with the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's Evan WALKER (AUS) scoring a 2-1 victory over Murray GORDON (AUS) of Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club.

MIRSKY summed up the gripping final when he said, 'It was the closest racing I've ever done, we were hanging on that umpire decision.'

A bitterly disappointed SWINTON said, 'Unfortunately it didn't happen our way, we were a bit unlucky in a couple of things, very disappointed.'

Eleven crews from Sweden, Japan, Britain and around Australia contested the four-day event, sailed on the Swan River in Foundation 36 yachts. This is the fifth time the event has been held and there is no doubt that the standard of sailing improves every time, and is of great benefit to up and coming young sailors.