“BOOM! A silver mezza!” Those were the jubilant words of Weymouth Olympian Saskia Clark when she landed her first medal with new helm Hannah Mills.

The 470 Girls, who joined 2012 campaign forces on February following the retirement of Clark’s former teammate Sarah Ayton, triumphed at the ISAF Sailing World Cup regatta in Hyeres, France.

They bedded in their new partnership and claimed second place overall, with their Skandia Team GBR counterparts Penny Clark and Katrina Hughes taking bronze and Spanish sailors Tara Pacheco and Berta Betanzos winning the gold.

Saskia, 31, of Wyke Regis, said: “I think having two teams on the podium is maybe unheard of for British 470 women’s sailing so it’s a really exciting place for the squad and we’ll hopefully keep pushing forward together through until next summer.”

Hannah, 22, who hails from Cardiff, added: “We’ve made some massive gains forward since Palma, particularly on our starting and upwind communications and you can see the difference.