GILES Scott remains on course to hit his pre-regatta target after soaring into gold medal position in the Finn class.

The Wyke Regis-based sailor enjoyed a successful fourth day at the Skandia Sail for Gold regatta, finishing third in race seven and second in race eight.

As a result, the 23-year-old moved ahead of triple Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie and previous leader Jonathan Lobert of France, with the latter now just one point adrift.

But after bouncing back from the disappointment of a false start disqualification on Tuesday, Scott knows there is no room for error in his quest for glory on home waters.

He said: “I’ve been very pleased so far but I’ve got to be pretty cautious though as I’ve got an OCS that I picked up a few days ago so I’ve got to remain cautious and stay consistent.

“That’s my one error and I can’t afford to have any more. We’ve still got a long way to go in the regatta so I’ll just concentrate on doing what I do.

“My aim coming into the regatta was to win. And racing against people like Ben, I’ve got to prove that I can win.”

Scott made full use of his home advantage while preparing for this week’s international showpiece and is eager to impress with the Olympics less than two years away.

He added: “We’ve been doing a lot of Sailing down here in preparation which has been good. We’ve had about a month-solid prior to the regatta so we’re in good shape.

“It’s quite odd really as this is home for me but for this week it’s a sailing regatta so I’ve got to make it seem like it’s not home if you see what I mean.

“We’re racing on the Olympic courses and the racing is very much as it would be at the Games so to be able to do well here would be worth a lot come selection time.”

Ainslie slipped from second to fifth after yesterday’s racing but moving in the opposite direction was Bournemouth’s Ed Wright, who now lies third overall.

Elsewhere on day four at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy, Sherborne’s Andrew Simpson and team-mate Iain Percy climbed into third spot in the Star men’s keelboat while Weymouth duo Sarah Dempsey and Saskia Clark boosted their hopes of making the cut by moving up to 19th in the 470 women’s dinghy class.

However, RS:X windsurfer Bryony Shaw has dropped to fourth in the women’s class.

Sail for Gold is the seventh and final instalment of this year’s ISAF Sailing World Cup.

Visit skandiasailforgoldregatta.co.uk for the latest results and details.