Grant boys first and second

Day four of the Volvo Musto Optimist National Championship

Both the Senior and Junior fleets completed two races on day four of the Volvo Musto Optimist Sailing National Championships 2005, in a light north westerly wind.

The sailors completed their first race just before lunchtime on the calm waters of Cardigan Bay. After a mornings coaching session, the Regatta fleet took some time out from sailing for a picnic and games on the beach at Pen 'y' Chain.

12 year old James Grant from Restronguet Sailing Club, maintains the lead in the Junior fleet with seven points, after an extremely impressive weeks racing, where he has won 7 out of the 8 races, and discarding his worse result which was a third. James, has recently returned from the Optimist European Championships, which were held in Poland in July, where he finished 52nd out of 140 boys. James has been racing for three years, he first raced at Pwhelli in 2002 when he was in the Regatta fleet. In second place is James's youngest brother David, who is 11, David currently has 28 points going into the fifth day of racing.

James said "My biggest sailing aspiration is to represent Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics, next year I am moving up into the Senior Optimist fleet which will be a good challenge for me. This week the racing has been great, the conditions have been quite difficult but I have been managing to read the shifts on the water which meant that I have been able to secure some good results. My biggest rival on the water has been my younger brother David, we are hoping to bring home the Ramshaw Brothers Trophy which will please Mum."

In the Senior fleet, Phil Sparks from Lymington still maintains his lead after a great couple of races yesterday, where he secured a second and a third, which extends his lead to 26 points, 21 points ahead of his nearest rival American sailor Ian Hollenbach, who is also having a great regatta on foreign waters.

The competition for the first girl position in the senior fleet is getting very close, at the moment, Lucy de Boltz, from Corinthian Otters is in third place overall and first girl with 49 points, but only nine points adrift is Hannah Diamond, from Warsash who currently has 58 points.

There are a maximum of three races planned for day five of the championship, with the second discard kicking in after nine races.