Ryan Bush and Abigail Campbell from Axbridge, and members of Cheddar Sailing at Bristol Corinthian Yacht Club, have become the first sailors from the club to win a race at the RS Feva National Championships.

RYAN Bush, aged 14 and Abigail Campbell (11), from Axbridge, and members of Cheddar Sailing at Bristol Corinthian Yacht Club, have become the first sailors from the club to win a race at the RS Feva National Championships at Rutland Water.

Bush and Campbell train with the Axbridge Turtles Feva team founded last year to encourage young sailors get into dinghy racing. The RS Feva is the leading double-handed youth boat in the UK, used by the Royal Yachting Association as a feeder into the transition and Olympic classes.

Also competing for the BCYC team were Taddy Horacek/Finn Pritchard and Ellie Hill/Toby Dawkins, both in their first year of open racing.

All the previous heavy weather training, which had seen the pairs battling against 25 mile per hour winds, paid off on the first day, where gusts of 37 knots were recorded and three boats lost masts.

Day two dawned lighter, perfect conditions for the lighter weight pair Bush and Campbell who were first to the windward mark in every race, securing results of fourth, first and fifth.

Horacek/Pritchard did enough to get into the gold fleet for the final championship day, adding three solid scores to their 12th, 13th and 27th from day one.

The second day brought an increasing breeze and four intense final series races. This favoured Hill/Dawkins who pulled out the stops to score 24, 15 and 14 in the silver fleet.

After a super three days which brought a full range of conditions, plenty of fun for all of the sailors and cause for celebration for many across the fleet, the 2015 RS Feva National Championship went to SW winter training team stable-mates Fin and Dan Armstrong from Torbay, with BCYC’s Bush/Campbell achieving a credible 20th in the 90-boat fleet.

Abi, a year six pupil at Fairlands School, was one of the youngest sailors taking part, and said: “I am so pleased we did well. It was a bit daunting as this was my first championships, but also fantastic fun. I’d love to go to the World Championships one day.”

The next instalment of UK RS Feva action will take place at Chew Valley on June 20-21 for the inland championships.

Final BCYC results: Ryan Bush/Abigail Campbell, gold fleet 20th; Taddy Horacek/Finn Pritchard, gold fleet 42nd; Ellie Hill/Toby Dawkins, silver fleet 25th.