THE Sainsbury’s Dorset Schools Sailing Games were hosted at Rockley Park in Poole with more than 50 competitors and 10 teams taking part.

It was a new experience for many sailing on a lake, but the youngsters soon adapted to the shifty and gusty conditions.

There was a Challenger and Gold Fleet with the Gold Fleet for the more experienced.

Both groups were sailing Pico dinghies, which in the morning, were raced by the Gold Fleet in randomly selected groups of 10.

There were five heats with the top two in each heat making final A and the third and fourth positions making final B.

Local sailors Emma Bishop, Alex Jones, Alexandra Stevenson and Alex McFarlane all made it to the Gold Fleet finals.

In the Challenger Fleet, racing was of the same format. Zoe Allan from Wey Valley School finished third in final C and Lucy Bayliss, also from Wey Valley, won final B while Jemima Hun-ter made it into the Challenger Fleet final A.

The Gold Fleet was very close racing throughout all the finals, especially group A. Jones, from All Saints, put in a consistent show to take the silver medal.

The results of all the competitors were taken into account to decide the position of each school.

The racing was very much led by the girls with the Bournemouth School for Girls taking the overall team win. Close behind was All Saints School in third and Wey Valley in fifth.

The combined team of Thomas Hardye and Dorchester Middle School finished seventh.

The schools from the west of the county can hold their heads high after great performances at an unfamiliar venue and with some challenging circumstances.

Pam Govier, from Wey Valley said: “The games had a great atmosphere, the Rockley team who were running them made everyone welcome and ran the event efficiently.”