Graham Vials, one of Britain's most talented young dinghy sailors, has his eyes set on an olympic Gold Medal in the 470 Class. Sue Pelling caught up with him during the Osprey Nationals.

Twenty-year-old Graham Vials from Derwent in Northumberland began his successful racing career at the age of 13 when he scooped the Optimist nationals. He then progressed to the Mirror class, crewing for the late Steve Nicholson, finishing second at the European championship. After a brief spell in the Hobie 405 and competing at the Enterprise and GP14 nationals he progressed to the 420 where he won two national and two inland championships as well as winning a silver medal at the 1997 youth worlds in Japan. He's now campaigning a 470 in preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games and filling in time racing at national class championships including the Flying 15s in 2000 and the Osprey nationals in 2001.

What's a busy 470 man like you doing competing at the Osprey nationals?
I was threatened [he laughs]. It all started with Adam Bowers, my 470 coach, joking that he'd lose our 470 RYA funding if I didn’t helm his Osprey at the nationals. More seriously, there was a bit of a gap in my 470 calendar having just returned from the 470 Europeans in Ireland so I decided to go for it.

Does that mean you received your 470 funding?
Thankfully yes, for another year. My crew Dan Newman, and I were top British boat at the Europeans and qualified second to the gold fleet. We had great speed at times and feel like we’re gradually getting there.

Have you sailed an Osprey before?
No, it was completely new to me. We got the boat the day before the championship, which didn't leave us much time to sort things out, but thankfully everything worked.

Were you surprised that you took to it so quickly?
I suppose I was really. It’s actually opened my eyes a bit. It’s great racing, it’s a really good boat and I love it.

What's the competition like in the Osprey fleet?
Fantastic, I had no idea there would be so many talented sailors. With the likes of Andy Barker, ex-470 guru, heading the fleet one couldn’t want for anything better. It's a similar situation in many other national classes; there are some really good sailors out there.

How valuable do you think this sort of national class experience is to you, and do you think all Olympic class sailors should take time out to do a similar thing?
Yes, I think all aspiring Olympic sailors should also sail good national classes. There is no question about it, stepping in to a class you’ve never sailed before puts you on the backburner immediately so you really have to work a lot harder. It’s excellent racing at a fraction of the cost and most of all it’s great fun.

How different is this sort of regatta from an Olympic class event?
The most significant difference is fun. There is basically no social programme at an Olympic class regatta. You have to go to bed early and the worse thing about it is that everyone’s your enemy. To come here and to have great fun in a friendly atmosphere is just wonderful.

You've only been sailing the 470 since 1999 and have already notched up some respectable results. What do you think has been the key to your success?
Our 16th at the 470 Europeans was good enough for us to receive funding. I think the key to the success was the fact that we just sailed the boat as though it was a slightly larger version of the 420. We knew we could sail that successfully so we just went out and did it.

Would you say your aim is the 2004 Olympic Games?
Indeed it is. I know we aimed for Olympic selection last time and eventually finished third at the British trials but when I look back my crew and I were both young, possibly too young. I was 18 years old and Magnus Leaske (my crew at that time) was only 16. In three year's time I'll be bit older and wiser and should have gained a lot more experience.

And what 's your short term aim?
Getting a good result at the forthcoming 470 worlds in Slovenia.

Good luck with the Olympic campaign and we look forward to seeing your results from the worlds.

sailpower 2001