ERIN Watson, who trains at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, ended the first day on top at the 2018 RS:X Youth National Championships.

Watson's 17-year-old sister Islay, bronze medallist at last week’s Techno European Championships, ended the day in second place.

A light but chilly south-westerly breeze greeted the record fleet of 29 windsurfers, all under the age of 21, as they launched from the Weymouth and Portland academy.

The wind wasn’t strong enough to get the boards planing, and so it became a battle of physicality as the sailors pumped their sails upwind and downwind.

Watson, 18, was dominant in the girls’ fleet, winning three races and counting a second in race three as her worst result of the day.

She sits four points ahead of her younger sister Islay, with Mollie Robbins from WPNSA five points back.

Watson said: “We had a classic day today – light winds and shifty, and getting those shifts right was a priority.”

“I had a good day but the competition is really tight. Tomorrow is going to be a bit like today so I will make sure I get my priorities right as soon as I get out on the water, and play it like I did today.”

Weymouth's Lily Young, scored the only other race win of the day.

Scotland’s Isaac Lines got his bid for the championships bid off to a near-perfect start on Friday winning three of the four opening races.

Lines, 18, from Dunoon in Argyll & Bute, established himself as the sailor to beat in the boys’ fleet.

In all four races it was Lines (Toward Sailing Club) who was first to the windward mark, and each time he managed to extend that lead by the end of two laps of the course.

It looked like Lines was on for a clean sweep as he led the fleet around the course on the fourth and final race of the day.

However his hopes were scuppered when race officials ruled he had jumped the gun at the start and disqualified him, handing him a maximum 15 points in the process.

Even so, he goes into day two with a three-point lead over second-placed Finn Hawkins (Porthpean Sailing Club), and a four-point buffer on Adam Phipps in third.

Lines said: “It was a good day but super-tough. 

“I was really happy to win all the races but then also really disappointed to get disqualified from the last one.

“Everyone is on top of their games and the racing is great. Tomorrow I need to play it safe – I have that disqualification on my shoulders now so I can’t make many more mistakes.”

The forecast for today is for similarly light winds but higher temperatures, with big breeze due to come through for the final day on Sunday.