Victoria and Emma Rawlinson continue to lead the Volvo RYA British Team ‘down under’ as they moved to the front of the 420 girls fleet at the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships in Sydney on December 31. After finishing third in the second day’s solitary race, the sisters have edged out a three point advantage in the 21-boat fleet.

The huge swells on the race area near Sydney Heads evidently suited the Rawlinsons’ sailing style. “It was very light out there and there was a massive swell running,” said Emma (from Farnham in Surrey). “We come from the South Coast of England, so we’re used to the big waves. We did best on the beats today, making up a lot of ground on everyone else.”

In the Laser class, Matt Howard (from Lee on Solent in Hampshire), second overall going into the second day’s racing has dropped to eighth after scoring. “The Korean guy capsized in front of me on the start line,” said Howard. “And after that I was never able to get back into the race. Apart from that incident it’s all going according to plan. The forecast for the next few days is for heavier conditions, which suit me better. In the stronger breeze yesterday afternoon I was one of, if not the fastest, on the course, so I’m looking forward to getting back to racing,” added Matt.

In the 420 boys division, Paul Campbell-James (from Seaford in East Sussex) and Matt Gill (from Great Dunmow in Essex) sailed a remarkable race after a premature start to surge through the fleet, finishing fourth across the line. This moves the pair to within six points of a provisional medal.

“The second gun was about 20 seconds after the first one, so we were late getting back. After that, our aim for the first beat was to get some clear wind. We got to eighth at the windward mark,” explained Matt Gill. According to helmsman Paul Campbell-James: “We had so much pace on everyone else – we were just quick!”

All classes will have a layday on New Year’s Day with racing recommencing on January 2 with three races scheduled for each fleet.

SYDNEY: Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships (after 2 days)

420 boys (after 4 races)

1, Nico Delle Karth and crew (Austria) 5,3,4,2 – 14pts

2, Panagiotis Kabouridis and crew (Greece) 2,4,5,7 – 18pts

3, Alberto Padron and crew (Spain) 10,1,6,3 – 20pts

British placing:

4, Paul Campbell James and Matt Gill – 7,5,10,4 – 26pts

Laser boy (after 4 races)

1, Ben Austin (Australia) 2,2,1,8 – 13pts

2, Thomas Le Breton (France) 4,7,6,2 – 19pts

3, Marin Misura (Croatia) 7,3,2,9 – 21pts

British placing:

8, Mark Howard – 8,1,3,26 – 38pts

Mistral boy (after 4 races)

1, Nicolas Guyader (France) 2,2,3,7 – 14pts

2, Alexander Chabner (Israel) 4,4,7,1 -16pts

3, King Yin Chan (Hong Kong) 1,1,12,4 – 18pts

British Placing:

9, Oliver Woodcock – 12, 13, 4, 8 – 37pts

420 girls (after 4 races)

1, Victoria and Emma Rawlinson (Great Britain) 3,3,2,3 – 11pts

2, Manuelle Adam and crew (France) 2,1,1,10 – 14pts

3, Elena Ziliani and crew (Italy) 4,2,6,4 -16pts

Byte girl (after 4 races)

1, Siren Sundby (Norway) 1,2,1,1 -5pts

2, Hanne Jansch (Germany) 4,1,7,4 – 16pts

3, Katarzyna Brzoska (Poland) 2,4,6,7 – 19pts

British Placing:

15, Katie Archer – 19,11,11,16 -57pts

Mistral girl (after 4 races)

1, Agata Brygola (Polany) 1,1,2,1 -5pts

2, Jenny Le Bihan (France) 2,2,1,4 -9pts

3, Dana Solaw (Israel) 4,6,5,2 – 17pts

British Placings:

10, Catherine Potter – 10, 9, 8, 10 – 37pts

Family, friends and supports wishing to send good luck messages can email them to GBVolvoYouthTeam@hotmail.com