470 SAILOR Katrina Hughes is convinced that victory at next month’s Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta would confirm her spot at next year’s Olympics — and she has got every intention of seizing the opportunity with both hands.

Leigh Sailing Club member Hughes and Penny Clark are in direct competition with compatriots Saskia Clark, who has now shrugged off the disappointment of seeing former partner and double Olympic champion Sarah Ayton retire, and new partner Hannah Mills for the one British 470 Olympic spot next year.

Clark and Hughes, largely thanks to a settled winter’s training after a turbulent 2010 was plagued by illness and injury problems, have been the most consistent British boat this season and have finished in the top four in all four of the ISAF World Cups they have competed in.

At the most recent World Cup in Hyeres however, they took bronze, one place behind Clark and Mills, who have flourished in their three months together and look set to provide stiff opposition in Weymouth next month.

But Hughes, 21, is adamant that consistency will prove the key at Sail for Gold.

“This season has gone really well for us so far. We set ourselves the goal of getting on the podium prior to the Sail for Gold Regatta to give ourselves some confidence,” said Hughes, a former Westcliff High School pupil.

“Now we’re getting back into training at Weymouth to get ready for Sail for Gold and we feel we’re right on track to get a medal there and take it on to the Olympic test event.

“We had problems last year with illness and injury but having been through that I think we’re stronger for it.

“For us we’re expecting the best British boat at Sail for Gold to go to the Olympics. There are some clauses where the selectors can decide what they want to do, but for us our goal is to get on the podium to try and guarantee our selection.”

The women’s 470 class is not the only one to witness fierce British competition. The men’s 49er has five crews bidding for London 2012, while the Finn has three pretenders to Ben Ainslie’s throne.

But whereas many may wish that the British ranks were not so competitive, Hughes believes competing against another British boat is a blessing in disguise.

“Having another British boat that’s really fast is a great benefit, whereas if you look at some of the other countries there is only one boat and they don’t have anyone to train against,” she added.

“We’ve always had Sarah and Saskia pushing us really hard and now we’ve got Saskia and Hannah to go training with and that helps us keep on track which is great.

“It’s a little bit different because of how the teams have developed. There’s a really solid training relationship there and then we keep ourselves to ourselves off the water.

“We’re third in the world rankings and we’re leading the World Cup so we’re pretty confident in ourselves and in what we can achieve.”

Investment specialist Skandia is the principal sponsor of the British sailing team. Go to www.rya.org.uk/programmes/skandiateamgbr for more information.