Sailing: Helensburgh woman wins silver medal

Sep 26 2008 by Laura McLachlan, Lennox Herald (main ed)

HELENSBURGH sailor Charlotte Dobson showed her true talent on the water last week – taking silver in the Laser Radial class at the Skandia Sail.

The 22-year-old made up for a disappointing summer without Olympic action with the silver medal at the medals races, which took place at the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy.

As of now, all eyes will be fixed on Weymouth and Portland, the venue for the London 2012 leg of Olympic sailing, as it becomes part of the newly introduced ISAF Sailing World Cup series.

Dobson showed grit and determination to take the silver in her section after stretching ahead of nearest contender, Andrea Brewster.

Chinese sailor Lijia Xu dominated the race to take victory with an astonishing 27 points over Dobson.

The Helensburgh youngster had shown consistency all week and that alone was enough to leave Brewster in the bronze medal place.