Mersea sailors Saskia Clark and Hannah Stodel were left kicking their heels on dry land as strong winds cancelled racing on the third day of the Semaine Olympique Francaise regatta in Hyères in France.

The predicted Mistral wind was gusting up to 35 knots and expected to get stronger as race officials decided to halt the day's events.

It left Clark and skipper Christina Bassadone sitting 12th in the women's 470 Class, while Stodel, together with skipper John Robertson and Stephen Thomas, are still heading the Sonar Class.

The cancellation means Clark and Bassadone may not have a chance to discard their frustrating result from their second race, when they failed to finish because of gear and mast problems, and could miss out on the medal races for the top final positions.

The fleets were due to be divided into gold and silver groups today and two to three races were planned if the weather allowed.