Australia has narrowly missed out on triple sailing crowns in the sport's Paralympic farewell after Matt Bugg suffered a heart-breaking setback.
The Tasmanian was in the gold medal position in the 2.4mR single-person keelboat on the second-last day of the regatta but a protest by a Spanish crew led to his disqualification.
Despite dominating the medal race on Saturday (Sunday AEST), the London 2012 Paralympian was relegated to silver.
The final day of competition was little more than a victory lap for Australia's two other crews, which both posted unbeatable leads with a day to spare.
Bugg admitted he didn't get much sleep overnight as the emotional rollercoaster took its toll.
"I don't think anyone has done it tougher than me this week," the London 2012 Paralympian said.
"I think (my competitors) know I won the regatta on the water, but unfortunately sometimes it goes beyond that into the protest room and unfortunately that didn't go my way."
Veteran duo Liesl Tesch and Dan Fitzgibbon became the first sailors to win back-to-back gold medals in the SKUD18, sealing victory with a stunning eight wins from 11 races and three second placings.
Given sailing has been removed from the Paralympic program for Tokyo 2020, 40-year-old master yachtsman Fitzgibbon said he could now happily retire.
"That's a fairytale for us. I can just hang my boots up and be very proud," he said.
Tesch said she would fight to get sailing back on the Paralympic program for future generations of sailors.
Sonar trio Russell Boaden, Jonathan Harris and Colin Harrison also secured their gold medals a day early on one of the most difficult sailing courses in the world.
Australia remained in fifth place on the medal tally on the penultimate day of competition that was overshadowed by the death of an Iranian Para cyclist.
In the pool, Rachael Watson scored gold in the S4 50m freestyle with a Paralympic record.
Lakeisha Patterson came third in the SM8 200m individual medley, as did fellow debutant Katja Dedekind in the women's S13 100m backstroke.
The athletics team enjoyed its biggest daily medal haul, spearheaded by 20-year-old James Turner who won gold in the T36 800m.
Teenage sprint star Isis Holt placed second in the women's T35 200m, backing up her 100m silver from Wednesday.
Wheelchair racer Madison de Rozario followed in Holt's footsteps by taking home silver in the 800m.
And shot putters Louise Ellery and Katherine Proudfoot both bagged bronze in the women's F32 and F36 classes.
Table tennis duo Melissa Tapper and Andrea McDonnell went down to Brazil 2-0 against a roaring home crowd in the bronze medal match.
