HENRY Chandler took the Optimist fleet and Hugo Burrows was victorious in the Topper fleet, as the south zone section of the Home Country Championships came to a close at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy.

More than 1,000 of the nation’s Olympic sailing hopefuls hit the water across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland over the weekend.

The event attracted a variety of sailors and supporters from sailing clubs across Great Britain and gave youngsters the chance to experience big regatta racing.

The South Zone sailors arrived for the second day of their championships in glorious sunshine and 14 knots of breeze.

They also had the chance to showcase their skills in front of the British Sailing Team’s Eilidh McIn-tyre.

The 470 Rio 2016 Portland-based Olympic hopeful spent the day out on the water, chatting to the young competitors before watching all the action unfold.

She said: “We have had some challenging conditions down here at WPNSA for the final day of competition and I was really impressed with the standard of racing and the attitude of the young sailors across all classes.

“They were all giving it their best and all really looked to be enjoying themselves which is so nice to see.

“It is great to see the event so well attended and with so many promising young sailors coming through the ranks.

“I can remember competing at the same event when I was younger – this is where it all starts and it is amazing to see so many youngsters really enjoying their sailing.”

Head RYA high performance manager, Chris Atherton, was pleased to see the majority of the events nationwide get a good two days of racing.

He added: “We’ve seen some great racing around the coun- try with a number of events getting in a full series of races.”