Sophie Ainsworth believes a drama-free day was exactly what the doctor ordered after putting herself in the thick of the medal hunt at the Sailing World Cup regatta in Weymouth.

The Ashford sailor is competing alongside partner Charlotte Dobson in the 49erFX class at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy, with the duo lying third in the overall standings following Thursday’s action.

A lack of wind ensured all racing was cancelled on Wednesday but with a healthier breeze 24 hours later, Ainsworth and Dobson sailed impressively to finish first, fourth, ninth and second in the day’s four races – leaving them narrowly behind Swedish pairs Lisa Ericson and Hanna Klinga and Julia Gross and Cecilia Jonsson in the overall rankings.

The regatta is serving as final preparation for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games for the British pair and Ainsworth is convinced the stop-start nature of the World Cup over the past two days is ideal practice.

“Today’s aim was ‘boring biscuits’ to try and avoid catastrophes so we’re actually pretty happy with the day – we’ve never really been able to do that before so we’re delighted,” she said.

“It was especially important after there was no racing yesterday and it was actually really good practice for Rio having a day when we couldn’t get out there.

“The Test event in Rio two years ago started and there was no racing and no winds on the first day so it was definitely good practice.

“We were really excited to get out on the water today and pleased with how it all went in the end.”

The World Cup regatta continues in Weymouth on Friday and Saturday before concluding with Sunday’s medal races, worth double points.

Wednesday was gloriously sunny but the lack of breeze meant that despite a couple of false starts racing ultimately wasn’t possible – much to the frustration of the sailors.

Thursday at least enabled the competitors to get out on the water and although the gusts were far from strong, Ainsworth believes they coped well.

“It’s quite nice to do some racing in light winds which we’ll expect to be doing in Rio,” added the 26-year-old.

“We’re going to keep working on our speed downwind and that should stand us in good stead for the rest of the week.”

Tickets for the Sailing World Cup Weymouth and Portland, to be held at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy from 6-12 June, are available at www.rya.org.uk/go/swcgb. The National Lottery-funded British Sailing Team is proudly supported by official partners Volvo Car UK, Zhik and Peters & May. Follow the team’s latest news and updates at britishsailingteam.com or on Twitter @BritishSailing.