Despite being a one-race day the crews of the 51-strong Lark fleet at their national championship felt plenty of pain by the finish line at the end of the fifth beat yesterday.

Sarah Richards and Nigel Wakefield sailed a strong first beat and rounded the top mark with a good lead that they extended during the race. Nigel Hufton and Chris Whitehouse were never threatened in second place. Mark Ampleford and Lee Nankervis converted their boat speed to achieve their first podium result of the champs. Richard and Jenny Bennet just beat the dense pack to finish fourth.