The De Boltz family from Little Baddow, near Chelmsford dominated the Junior Fleet at the Volvo Optimist National Championships in Plymouth last week.

Richard, 12, David, 10 and Lucy, nine, came in fourth, 12th and 20th places respectively - a remarkable achievement over six days racing and 12 races in a fleet of 96 boats.

The family got into sailing four years ago with all three learning to sail an Optimist, the most popular junior dinghy all over the World.

The three had different answers when asked what contributed totheir success.

Richard put his top five finish down to excellent coaching, David to his good reading of the tides in the Plymouth Sound and Lucy to her light weight in the light and shifty wind conditions.

Richard, David and Lucy all aspire to one day race at the Olympic Games.

If they fulfil their ambition they will join a distinguished alumni of British Olympians that have begun in this class, including nearly all of the sailing team that will represent Great Britain at the Olympics in Sydney next month.

Richard ,David and Lucy were presented with the 'First Family Trophy' by Ellen MacArthur, skipper of Kingfisher and one of the World's top women ocean sailors, who also started sailing in an Optimist.

Ellen will be competing in the gruelling single-handed Vende Globe Round the World Race in November.

The Volvo Optimist National Championships attracted a record number of entries with 290 senior and junior entries from all over the UK for the most prestigious event in the British Optimist Sailing Calendar.

James Kendall of Volvo Car UK, said: ''It's been very exciting to see so many young sailors racing in Plymouth, and I have no doubt that we will see some of these young Optimist sailors in the Olympics and international regattas in years to come''.

''Who knows, we may even have seen a future skipper of the Volvo Ocean Race.''

<LI. Sailing along: Action from the Volvo Optimist National Championships, in which the De Boltz family from Little Baddow were in dominant form.

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