DURING the past week, the best of youth sailors in the country have gathered at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) for the second year running.

Day three at the RYA Youth National Championships was a marathon for the Laser and Radial fleets.

They were on the water for over eight hours as unstable winds, once again, postponed racing in Weymouth Bay.

The 420 and Spitfire classes kicked off the day with two races in Portland Harbour in a steady 6-10 knot breeze.

After a long wait in the bay the 29ers came into the harbour and completed three races, while the Laser Radials had one race in the bay, and the Standards two.

As the wind disappeared out at sea, both Laser fleets moved into the harbour to continue their racing.

London 2012 Olympic Silver medallist, Stuart Bithell was also on hand to greet 420 sailors as they hit the slipway and handed out some top tips, before taking to the commentary box for some 29er racing.

Sam Barker, a member of Castle Cove Sailing Club (CCSC) has been defending his national champion title in the Spitfire class and by day three, was in first place after some great races.

In the Laser Radial fleet, CCSC member Jack Cookson was one of the leaders from the start and on day three, was placed at the top of the fleet.

This is a position he would like to remain in, in order to qualify for a coveted place at the Youth World Championships.

Other CCSC participants are James Bishop, Emma Bishop and Alex McFarlane.

Alexandra Stevenson has been representing Weymouth Sailing Club (WSC) and Tai Thomas-Day has been competing for the Andrew Simpson Sailing Centre.

In the RS:X fleet, Lily Young has been holding her own at her first Youth National Championship.

Meanwhile, in the 29er class, brothers Fin and Dan Armstrong (RTYC) are competing in the Youth Nationals for the first time.

They both sail in the RS Feva national junior squad and are using the event as experience before transitioning.

The pair have had a promising week so far, and finished fifth in the second gold fleet race.

They said: “We had a decent start and went to the right-hand side, then rounded the windward mark in fourth. We then lost one boat up the second beat.”

On the race management side, many members from CCSC and WSC have been supporting the racing — without which, the event could not take place.

The weather has provided a few challenges for some with the very light winds, at times only reaching five knots, causing many postponements and slow races.

For more information, visit the RYA Youth Nationals website.