DORSET’S up-and-coming Sailing star Ross McFarlane was among the winners crowned at last weekend’s RYA Volvo Zone and Home Country Championships.

The Sherborne teenager, who is a member of Weymouth’s Castle Cove Sailing Club, claimed victory in the Topper dinghy fleet at the South Zone Championship, hosted by the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy.

More than 800 of Britain’s top young talent competed across nine venues throughout the United Kingdom for the two-day championship event, with the borough boasting the largest entry of the nine venues with more than 260 sailors taking part.

The championship, which is one of the biggest and most popular events on the RYA Racing calendar, traditionally marks the end of the junior racing season.

The RYA high performance managers witnessed top dinghy and windsurf racing from the nation’s young guns who were competing for selection into the RYA Volvo Zone and Home Country squads as well as championship honours.

This year’s championships welcomed competitors from current RYA national junior and zone squads, as well as many new club level racers, who will have developed their racing skills and ability after venturing out onto the competitive circuit for the first time.

Racing took place across the nine RYA-supported junior dinghy and windsurfing classes including the Mirror, Optimist, Topper, RS Feva, Cadets and the windsurfers on the Bic Techno using the open 4.5, and 5.8 rigs, and the Techno 6.8s and Techno 7.8s.

All championship events were sponsored by Volvo Car UK, and the junior sailors had the chance to showcase their talents in front of recently selected Skandia Team GBR and Team Volvo for Life 2012 Olympians, including Saskia Clark, Lucy Macgregor, Nick Dempsey, Helena Lucas, Hannah Mills and Kate Macgregor.

Poole’s Lucy Macgregor, who sails the Elliot 6m along with her sister Kate Macgregor and Annie Lush, presented medals to the south zone winners on Sunday.

She said: “It’s fantastic to see so many sailors taking part on the home waters of the 2012 Olympics.

“With less than a year until I am competing on the same race course for an Olympic medal, the sailors here have the perfect opportunity to develop their racing skills.

“Sailors really need to make the most of these types of regattas as they are the perfect stepping stone to achieving their sailing dreams.”

Duncan Truswell, RYA youth racing manager, said: “This event saw a huge array of the UK’s finest young sailing talent competing for championship honours and benefiting from a fantastic opportunity to learn with the guidance and support of RYA staff, top RYA coaches and some of the sailors who will represent GBR at the 2012 Olympic Games.”

To find out more visit ryaracingevents.org.uk