Young Robbie Claridge, from Lymington, beat 59 other Optimist sailors to take the class prize in the RYA Southern Area Zone championships on Sunday.

The six-race series, spread over Saturday and Sunday, tested Claridge and his fellow competitors' stamina and tactics.

With hardly a breath of wind on Saturday morning the entire six-class fleet waited on land at Hayling Island sailing Club for an hour. Racing got under way inside the harbour in a light, gentle south-easterly with shortened courses.

Once racing Claridge was in the leading pack in each race.

The event, run by HISC in conjunction with the RYA, enabled youngsters from across the sailing spectrum to experience a good level of competition.

The Lymington sailor took first place followed by Matthew Rainback from Poole. As well as the Optimist, the Topper, the double-handed Mirror and Cadet, the new one-design asymmetric RS Fevar featured as well as a mixed handicap section.

On Sunday the breeze freshened a force two to three. The Optimists and Cadets sailed inside the harbour with the other classes racing in the entrance towards the West Wittering side. Conditions were smooth with longer courses set.

Lighter crews found the racing more testing and there were a number of capsizes.

Alastair Nichol, from Emsworth Slipper Sailing Club, headed the Topper fleet gaining two firsts and two seconds in the six-race series. Next placed were Rory Paterson and Nigel Dakin, both from Stokes Bay Sailing Club.

Competing confidently in tidal conditions, Aaron Cooper and Rebecca Hopwood, from Frensham Pond Sailing Club, in the Cadet class put in an impressive performance finishing with nine points from six races and able to discard their lowest sixth place. They were followed by Ben Lyon and Robert Moore from Highcliffe and Ben Muskett and Pip Wegulin from the Royal Lymington Yacht Club - with just one point separating second from third place.

All girl teams took first and second places in the Fevar class with Maria Stanley and Hannah Diamond from Warsash first on eight points. Frances Peters and Olivia Pettit from the home club at Hayling were four points adrift in second.

Two Hill Head Sailing Club pairings led the Mirror fleet with Ned McNulty and Tom Hodkinson first and Tom Robinson and Shaun Mason second, both on nine points, but two firsts put Ned and Tom ahead on the tie-break.

Max Holloway from the Royal Lymington was in the enviable position of being able to discard a first place when he took the mixed handicap class with six straight wins.