World Cup glory may be beyond the reach of England’s footballers but Southampton students have proved that international sporting prowess can be plain sailing.

Southampton Solent University is on the crest of a wave after winning the Student Yachting World Cup for the second time in six years.

The eight-strong team cruised to victory against fellow sailors from around the world in the five-day championships at La Rochelle in France.

Their victory allowed Kate Macgregor to taste international stardom for the second time in as many months.

Kate was also a member of the team that won the ISAF Women’s Match-Racing World Championships in America in September. She and her fellow students took part in the French contest after training hard in the Solent.

“It was a tough week with a lot of very close racing but we bonded as a team and kept getting better as the week went on,” said the 19-year-old from Poole.

The crew was led by Guy Jackson, 23, of Netley, who sprayed his fellow world champions with champagne after they returned to Southampton on Saturday.

He said: “I’m extremely proud to have skippered this crew. We worked so hard with the university’s sports staff to condition and prepare ourselves and it’s really paid off. The university will defend the title next year and hopefully win it again.”

Guy had only just dried out after being given a celebratory dunking in La Rochelle by Kate and the rest of the crew – Ben Pym, Peter Cowell, James Ellis, Heather Slater, James Moore and Samuel Peters.

They competed against 13 other teams in a gruelling schedule that included a marathon all-day contest, a night event and short races.

Their coach was Niall Myant, a member of the Southampton Solent University crew that won the same event in 2004.

“Everyone is absolutely thrilled,” he said. “We were well prepared for the Championship but it wasn’t until half-way through that we thought we could win.

“We were confident going into the last race but it was a relief to finish miles ahead of our closest rival – Switzerland – and confirm victory.”

The vice-chancellor, Professor Van Gore, described the win as “marvellous” news for the campus. Sports development manager Matthew Bishop added: “We’ve been blessed this year with not only an individually talented squad but also one that can work highly effectively as a team. The squad have worked tirelessly on and off the water since the yachting nationals in April.”

Three of the students have graduated which means the team has raced together for the last time.