TWO highly skilled sailors from Castle Cove Sailing Club had the fantastic opportunity to test sail and compete on a Nacra F16 catamaran.

Sam Barker, who already has many wins on different boats under his belt, and Josh O’Brien were given the chance to travel to Datchet Water Sailing Club (DWSC) and experience the Nacra F16, a slightly smaller version of the current Olympic class catamaran, the Nacra 17.

The duo put the boat through its paces over the course of four weekends, and they were determined to make it foil – this is when the boat lifts out of the water and goes faster due to decreased drag – even though it is not designed to.

Barker said: “On the last weekend the weather gods blessed us with perfect conditions which allowed us to really let the dog out of its cage and show what this boat could achieve.

“The aim was to get the boat to foil and we did just that with the photographic evidence to prove it.”

However, the pair did not stop there and decided to add another first to their names.

On the Sunday of each week, DWSC were holding their Winter Warm-up series and Barker and O’Brien decided to compete.

They achieved a superb overall victory in a completely new boat, highlighting the duo’s talent and showing how transferable their skills are.

Barker and O’Brien are names we will definitely hear more about in the future.