PORTLAND Paralympians triumphed on their final day of racing at the Skandia Sail for Gold regatta with an early boost of silver and gold to Britain’s medal tally.

The Sonar keelboat team of Hannah Stodel, John Robertson and Steve Thomas, finished sixth and seventh in their final races yesterday which was enough to claim victory overall.

Thomas, aged 34, of Easton, said: “We’re extremely happy with the gold, we were disappointed with the way we sailed today but we got the job done.

“We had a bit of drama this week when our jib pole snapped and I had to hold the sail in 20 knots and hang out over the side.

“These may be our home waters but we’re still learning and training down here, hopefully it will pay off.

“It’s all about 2012, this is just a dress rehearsal for the Games.

“This week we saw the competition intensify massively, everyone’s focus is on the Games, it’s all about getting selection and going through and winning a medal.”

Helm Robertson, 39, of Castletown, said: “We’re happy with the result but there’s still a lot to work on.

“Now obviously the foreigners are going to be all over us, we’ve got to keep pushing forward.”

Meanwhile Skud-18 sailors Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell won silver in their 17-boat fleet, behind the Australian team of Daniel Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch.

Birrell, aged 24, of Easton, said: “We’re a little bit disappointed, we would’ve preferred to have won gold but the Aussie team who won sailed really well.

“For us we’ve got one more big event in three weeks’ time, the worlds, and our focus has already switched to win that.

“The mixed conditions this week have been good in terms of our performance in all winds, we’ve done okay and it’s really good for confidence.”

He added: “I love doing Sail for Gold with all the able-bodied classes, it’s a fantastic event, everybody’s here.

“It felt like a massive event and there was a real buzz around.”

The double points medal races of the Olympic classes will take place today, when the academy hosts a Spectator Day.

Skandia team GBR’s women’s match race team is currently sitting at the top of the leaderboard and crew Annie Lush is looking forward to today’s event with her teammates Lucy and Kate Macgregor.

She said: “It’s a big day for us.”

Weymouth’s Paul Goodison claimed a win yesterday in the men’s Laser dinghy event and is poised in third place overall.

Meanwhile, Beijing bronze medallist Nick Dempsey, of Wyke Regis, is currently in second place in the men’s RS:X windsurfing event, five points behind New Zealand’s Jon-Paul Tobin.

See the latest results at skandiasailforgoldregatta.co.uk