SKANDIA Team GBR is the British Sailing Team in the Olympic and Paralympic classes.

The team consists of the Performance Squad and Development and Transitional squads, which jointly total around 70 sailors. The sailors train and compete across 10 Olympic Classes – Finn, Laser Radial, Laser, 470 men and women, 49er, Star, NeilPryde RS:X men and women windsurfers and, new for London 2012, Women’s Olympic Classes Match Racing.

There are three Paralympic Classes, the Sonar, 2.4mR and SKUD18.

Great Britain is the world’s top Olympic Classes sailing nation with the British Olympic team sailors topping the medal table at the past three Games in 2000, 2004 and 2008.

In a Dorset Echo column, Skandia Team GBR members are bringing insight into the campaign for glory in 2012.

Here’s Weymouth’s Olympic windsurfer and Team Volvo for Life member Saskia Clark who sails a 470 dinghy with Hannah Mills.

HANNAH and I have had a lot of lovely comments and congratulations since winning silver at the Olympic Test Event and although the disappointment has slightly faded it still would have been nice to have won.

Three points separated us and the Japanese girls at the end and the distance between gold and silver was about 10 metres in the medal race.

When Hannah and I paired up in February our goal was to qualify for the Test Event.

We did that by winning silver at Skandia Sail for Gold. By winning silver at the Test Event we have surpassed our expectations for this season.

However I also know from the last Olympic cycle this season means nothing in the grand scheme of things so there is no way we can sit and pat ourselves on the back at what we’ve done this year, however much we’ve out-performed our goals.

Because of the strength in depth some countries have in the 470 fleet, the top 10 was actually weaker than the top 10s at some of the other grade one regattas.

But the medallists from Beijing 2008 are all still around, albeit sailing in different combinations, and the experienced crews amongst the fleet will know they can pick and choose which events they bring their A game to and which events they might just be using as warm ups.

I think it’s safe to assume everyone will think they’ve got a lot more still to come before the Olympics.

The Test Event is a really important event for everyone in terms of the lessons that need to be learned before the Olympics, so it was a really valuable experience for us.

It was Hannah’s first experience of being in the locked down British team environment. We live together as a team, we are very lucky as we get all our meals cooked and have all the sports science expertise and experience immediately to hand at all times in the build up to and throughout the event until everyone has finished.

Some people can find that exciting, a bit daunting or unusual but it is important to get used to it. Hannah took it all in her stride like an absolute pro as I guessed she probably would.

We’re back in training on September 1 and our focus becomes the ISAF World Championships in Perth in December. Our selection process is ongoing so, regardless of what we’ve achieved this season, we know we have to go out there and prove ourselves again.

In the meantime I’m enjoying a bit of time off back home in Essex. I took part in Mersea Week with some friends in a classic Mersea Winklebrig, a type of old fishing working boat unique to the area.

Follow Saskia, Paul and the Team Volvo for life sailors at volvocarssailing.co.uk