SOUTHAMPTON pair Hugh Styles and Adam May left it late before shining on the final day of the Tornado European championships in Sardinia.
They won the first race on the final day and finished fifth in the second to claim an overall fifth spot.
Styles and May had gone into the event on the back of a few tricky results and were beaten by fellow Hampshire lads Leigh McMillan and Mark Bulkeley at the Spa regatta in May.
Styles said: "The regatta has been one of the toughest I have sailed with big shifts and pressure differences on the race course in every race.
"This is why Adam and I are so pleased that we finished the regatta on such a high note by winning the ninth race."
Looking ahead to the upcoming Worlds in Cadiz, he added: "This puts us right on track for a top performance there."
Leigh McMillan (Cowes) and crew Mark Bulkeley (Southampton) had a slightly disappointing championships after their win last month at the SPA Regatta, finishing 16th overall.
Team mate Rob Wilson, sailing for the first time with new crew Martin Sellars, was 21st overall.
Andreas Hagara and Michael Seidl of Austria won the championship with a race to spare from countrymen Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher.
In the Open event 2002 world champions Darren Bundock and John Forbes, from Australia, won for the event by nine points from Hagara/Seidl.
European Results (final results)
1, Andreas Hagara/Michael Seidl, AUT (9,6,2,15,3,1,4,5,6,(DNF) 51 pts 2, Roman Hagara/Hans Peter Steinacher, AUT (6,1,(14),10,10,6,9,1,15,3) 60 pts 3, Andrey Kirilyuk/Valery Ushkov, RUS (11,13,4,12,1,16,3,(31),4,5) 69 pts GBR
5, Hugh Styles/Adam May (5,7,18,21,7,(RET),12,20,1,7) 98 pts 16, Leigh McMillan/Mark Bulkeley (12,11,17,5,33,5,25,24,(37),19) 151 pts 21, Rob Wilson/Martin Sellars (14,(OCS),8,13,2,23,44,19,24,25) 172 pts 30, Ian Barker/Dan Newman (26,26,33,52,(DNF),18,6,39,26,10) 236 pts
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