Smith is crowned

Monday 8th September 2008, 2:30PM BST.

Jerseyman Roy Smith, with Peter Philipson from the UK, on their way to championship victory in their boat, Condor Ferries. (Picture by Andrew Le Poidevin, 0634910)

JERSEY’S Roy Smith has become the class 3C world offshore champion for the third time after a stunning comeback.

With Saturday joining both the previous two days in being a complete washout, the championship came down to two races yesterday, one at 9.30am with the second four hours later.

In the first, Smith and Italian Diego Testa were locked in a fierce battle for the whole race, with the Jerseyman missing out on the win by a margin of two seconds.

However, after the race, Smith said it had been a strong performance because he had been hindered early on. ‘I lost my engine trim right at the start of the race, which meant we had not much straight-line speed.’