ALMOST 300 youth sailors, from across the globe took to Wey-mouth Bay in what was one of the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy’s (WPNSA) biggest regattas of the year.

After a day and a half of measurements, a procession of all the national teams kicked off the Cadet World Championships in spectacular fashion.

There were introductions from UK chairman Andy Shorrock, incoming chairman Howard Warrington, international class chairman Jan Martin Wilschut and WPNSA’s chief executive Peter Allam.

The overall message was to have fun on the water while learning skills that can last a lifetime.

Early stages of the week’s championship racing brought sunshine and light winds to Weymouth Bay, conditions that seem to have favoured GBR boats as the promotional fleet was largely dominated by sailors from east coast clubs.

Approaching the mid-section of the week saw winds pick up to between 15-20 knots making for excellent cadet sailing.

With the Australians looking very convincing at the top of the worlds fleet, a game of snakes and ladders was being played among the top three Brits in the promotional.

At the end of the week, Thomas and Sophie Alexander from Australia were crowned cadet class world champions following a brilliant display of sailing.

Igor Lvov and Maria Kulbashna of Ukraine improved as the week progressed and thoroughly deserved their second place having won both the races on the final day.

GBR sailors Lucy and Cally Terkelsen were the top British boat, never finishing lower than 12th to take third overall and first all-girl crew.

A specially-arranged fly-past by the Red Arrows brought the event to a spectacular close and by mid-evening, many sailors had headed to Chesil Beach to celebrate their success.