THREE Castle Cove Sailing Club (CCSC) members were out in force at the first Noble Marine Laser Qualifier of the season.

James Bishop, Jack Cookson and Jon Emmett all travelled to the Royal Torbay Yacht Club where the trio were competing individually in the Laser Radial fleet.

There were clear skies and a brisk wind on the first day of competition when three races were completed, with the CCSC members consistently achieving positions high up the leaderboard.

The forecast for the second day of racing was doubtful due to strong winds, however, races were able to take place as planned, but the conditions were tough.

Another three races were held with many competitors retiring early, while in the last race of the day a gust of wind was recorded which exceeded 37 knots.

Luckily, the CCSC members battled to the finish and achieved excellent overall positions.

Emmett, a world champion Laser sailor and coach to an Olympic gold medallist, as well as the current coach of the Israeli team in preparation for the 2016 Olympics, finished the event in a fantastic third place. Olympian Ali Young won the event.

Bishop placed an extremely successful 17th and was the 11th best under-19, while Cookson was 20th overall and 13th in the under-19 category.

Bishop said: “I was happy with this result and it is a nice place to be this early in the season, and it’s definitely a strong position which I can improve on.”

The next spring qualifier will be held at Stokes Bay Sailing Club, followed by the third qualifier at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.

The three CCSC members will hope to improve their positions at these events.

  • MEMBERS and guests are invited to Weymouth Sailing Club (WSC) tonight for an evening with the Royal Yachting Association race official's education officer Chris Watts.

Watts will be talking about racing rules before the season starts, while Megan Pascoe, who is hoping to make the Rio Paralympics, is also going to be on hand to provide valuable information.

The talk will be held in the longshed training and meeting room (7.30pm) and all levels of experience are welcome.