AHEAD of the Cadet World Championships, the Nationals, held at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) was fiercely competitive with an abundance of young talent.

More than 80 boats took part in the three-fleet event, with competitors from Belgium, Australia, Argentina, The Netherlands and Great Britain all competing on the Olympic waters of WPNSA.

The tail end of Hurricane Bertha threatened to upset proceedings even before the event got underway, with high wind speeds and choppy waters predicted to feature throughout the regatta.

Fortunately, day one produced sublime sailing conditions with sunshine and good winds.

Following the perfect conditions, the weather on the second day took a turn for the worse and somewhat upset the schedule.

Ferocious winds and the threat of heavy rain meant that sailing was postponed and as conditions worsened, racing was called off.

Improved conditions on day three saw competition start an hour earlier to make up for the uneventful day two.

On the final day of racing, Australian pair Thomas and Sophie Alexander finished first in all three races. However, their late success was not enough to clinch the overall title, as the consistency of the Belgian pair Cesar Smet and Emile Mariem meant they finished on top.

The top British pairing was Alex Page and Aaron Chadwick, who claimed the title of national champions on the Olympic waters.