Sailing: Brotherton on the boil

THE 470 dinghy class forfeited a third race at the Eurolymp regatta in Hayling Bay, near Chichester, yesterday after a hat-trick of false starts as they poured over the line before the gun in their eagerness to attack, writes Stuart Alexander.

Paul Brotherton won the first race with his new crewman, Chris Owen, but in the second he could not hold Andy Richards and another Olympic representative of 1988 vintage, Jason Belben.

They are all looking over their shoulders while John Merricks recovers from a stomach bug. He has already won the Dutch Olympic 470 regatta and last week took the silver medal at the European Championship in Germany.

Yesterday's British event on the Olympic circuit offered bright sunshine, a 15- knot sea breeze, and a novel twist to the shape and distances of the racecourses.

Eurolymp has also attracted a 60-strong fleet of Lasers, the new Olympic single-handed dinghy, ahead of the European Championship next month. Another class are the new Laser 5000s, the powerful two- handed boats striving for inclusion in the 2000 Olympics.