James Downer and Jon Price racing their RS400. Picture by Graham Caws.
SAILINGISLAND sailors James Downer and Jon Price are hitting the headlines in national and European circles.
The duo, racing their RS400 for Royal Victoria Yacht Club, won the European Championships and last weekend came second in the National Championships.
James, 22, and Jon, 24, are also members of Gurnard Sailing Club, and are sponsored by Wightlink.
At the European Championships, in Lake Garda, Italy, the pair beat off competition from 30 other boats to gain five first places and two seconds in the series, and take the gold without having to race the final two events.
And last weekend, at the National Championships in Pwhelli, North Wales, they managed to finish in the top ten of every one of the seven races, to come second overall, behind Nick Craig, and Cowes High School teacher James Stewart.
Downer said: "Nick is a multiple world champion and James, strangely, used to teach me geography, so it wasn’t much of a disgrace finishing behind them.
"We would have liked to win, that was our aim, but the winds were very light and that did not suit us."