THREE Suffolk sailors are in Tavira, Portugal, ready for the start of the 420 World Championships. Sam Carter, 18, from Woodbridge, Paul Davies, 17, from Bentley and Nic Asher will be representing Great Britain in the event that lasts until next Friday.

THREE Suffolk sailors are in Tavira, Portugal, ready for the start of the 420 World Championships.

Sam Carter, 18, from Woodbridge, Paul Davies, 17, from Bentley and Nic Asher will be representing Great Britain in the event that lasts until next Friday.

Sam is from the Haven Ports Yacht Club and the Waldringfield Sailing Club and this will be his fifth successive year representing his country at world level. He is a former young sailor of the year while Paul is the current national champion and they should be a formidable combination in the two-man event.

Nic could have a chance of doing well as he recently won in a 183 strong fleet at the 420 Kieler Woche event. Carter will be the helm with Davies acting as his crew while in another boat Nic is also in the helm position and will be guided by Elliott Willis.

The qualification for the British squad for the event took place over three weekends of racing in Weymouth, Thorpe Bay and Sunderland.

Asher and Willis won 14 of the 23 races and could be a medal hope while Carter and Davies qualified in fifth position and there will be a total of seven teams from Britain in the event.

Speaking from Portugal, Sam said he was ready and hoping for a good competition. "The practice race starts today and we shall use the opportunity to work on our starts," he said.

"Firstly we have to qualify to race against the top half of those included here. That means there will be six races on Saturday and six on Sunday and if we are above half then we will qualify for the champions' fleet. Racing for that (the world championships) will start on Tuesday.

"My first aim is to obviously qualify for the top fleet and after that I would like to see a strong position in the worlds. I think a top 15 place is realistic.

"The conditions here are difficult as Brits are not used to racing in temperatures like this. However, any strong sea breezes will benefit us as the team's strongest performances come in the wind. I think the Brits have a great chance of doing well here."