A total of 119 boats from 25 countries - including Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Spain, Russia, Switzerland, Thailand, the Netherlands and hosts France - set sail off Quiberon Bay on Tuesday.

Five races were staged during the first two days, with only the worst performance being discounted. Crewed by his younger brother Sakda, Damrongsak, who captured the gold medal at last year's SEA Games in the Philippines, lived up to his top billing as the two-time Asian champion.

He sailed home in 11th place, accumulating 52 penalty points. That was enough to earn him a place in the Gold Fleet or Division 1 race, where the world's top sailors are vying for the top prize.

There was ideal weather for the 64 boats that had made the grade, and the first three races provided some great sailing.

Damrongsak finished a disappointing 28th in the first race, but his performances improved significantly as he stormed home in second and sixth respectively in the following races.

At the end of the first three races in the Gold Fleet, Damrongsak is in eighth place overall with 36 penalty points, but is the leading Asian competitor in the field.

The current leader is German Ulf Hahn with crew Maxi Jarling, on 13 penalty points. Hot on his heels in second and third places are Frenchmen Francois Morvan, crewed by Romain Petit, with 15 points, and Julien Villion and crew Martin Bataille with 18 points.

Three more races will be contested today.

Somporn Suphop

The Nation