The 30-year-old has been in scintillating form at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy as the competition reached the halfway mark on Wednesday, sitting top of the RS:X men’s pile.

Dempsey is joint on points with New Zealand’s JP Tobin after six races but takes first place thanks more race victories than his Kiwi rival, outscoring him three to two at the London 2012 venue.

And the Norwich-born windsurfer, who claimed World Championships gold in Weymouth in 2009, admits he is feeling better than ever, a dangerous thing for his Olympic rivals considering they are all due back in August for an Olympic test event.