Ben Ainslie continues his bid to make a mark on the Finn Olympic fleet at the SPA Regatta in Medemblik, Holland this week and after day one, he was lying in a creditable fifth place.

The first day saw light but shifty breezes and some torrential rain, leaving the strong Finn class with a late start but Lymington's Olympic gold medallist, pictured below, scored a third and a fifth to finish two places behind his Team GBR rival - and good friend - Andrew Simpson who started slowly with a sixth but hooked a win in the second race.

"I had quite a good day today, although it was a bit lighter than expected," said Ainslie.

"It is still a big learning process for me, I have some good races and some bad, so I just need to pull them together in order to make a mark at these regatta's. I am enjoying the challenge though and that is the main thing.

The five-day regatta, for all 11 of the Olympic classes, has attracted a world-class field from around 60 different nations but Team GBR's hopefuls were seeking to dominate after some strong performances at the last meeting in Hyeres.

Olympic gold medallist in the Europe Class, Shirley Robertson sailing with Sarah Ayton and Inga Leask finished on the podium in Hyeres at their first international regatta sailing as this crew combination, but started disappointingly at Medemblik with a 17th place after the first day's racing.

Another gold medallist Iain Percy, sailing with Steve Mitchell, is yet to celebrate his first birthday in the Star class but after a second in the Star Spring Championships in Florida, where they were based for much of the winter, the pair were anxious to ruffle some feathers in European waters.

An aggressive start left them in an impressive second place, with four days still to contend.