CASTLE Cove Sailing Club had five youth representatives at the Topper Nationals, held at Pwhelli this year.

Alex McFarlane and Will Adler competed in the 5.3 fleet along with 204 other Topper sailors. The first day of racing was cancelled due to the wind and waves.

McFarlane said: “My aim for the event was to finish 45th in gold fleet however, with just two light wind days of qualifying, I was 49th in Silver Fleet (118th overall) which was really irritating.

“Although, after I saw the windy forecast for the rest of the week, I felt a bit happier.”

As the wind picked up, McFarlane pulled his position up to 16th ahead of the last day of racing.

The final day saw a shifty offshore 10 knots of wind for the last two races of the event.

Overall, McFarlane finished the championships 15th overall in the silver fleet.

Alongside him, Adler put in a fantastic performance in challenging conditions to finish 53rd.

Previous nationals 2012 star Ross McFarlane coached the 4.2 fleet for the week, an experience which was rewarding as he could see the young sailors improve over the course of the week.

Among the 4.2 fleet was Oliver Fellows who finished an impressive seventh place against top competition.

Younger brother George competed in the regatta fleet and achieved 17th overall.

Also in action in the regatta fleet was Tia Adler who achieved 13th overall and fifth female.

McFarlane added: “The nationals was a really great event and well worth the drive.”