Saskia Clark is within striking distance of the overall lead heading into Sunday’s medal race at the Sailing World Cup in Weymouth and she admits the pressure will be on as she looks to record a home victory.

A lack of wind has meant a reduced schedule at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy this week but 470 sailor Clark has capitalised whenever she’s been out on the water, and did so again on Saturday.

Alongside partner Hannah Mills, the Colchester sailor recorded finishes of third, fifth and seventh in the three races completed to lie second in the overall standings – level on points with leaders Linda Fahmi and Maja Siegenthaler of Switzerland.

That is a strong position for the British pair to take into the medal race and Clark concedes that they didn’t want to be too aggressive on Saturday in order to stay towards the top end of the rankings.

“We were quite conservative and didn’t really expose ourselves to much risk,” she explained.

“From that we were always in the mix but a bit behind the boats that had pushed a bit more.

“It was a good day overall. It was challenging with light winds and it was shifty and patchy. We dragged out some results would be the way to describe it.

“We weren’t quite good enough to get any sort of lead – we’re equal with the Swiss though and it will be exciting tomorrow.

“Every medal race is a really valuable experience and at home there is a bit more pressure on us to win it.

“That’s really good practice for Rio which is what this week is all about. But we do want to win. A win is a win, especially at home so we’ll be pushing hard.”

Sunday’s sailing consists of a sole medal race, worth double points, with the winners being the pair atop the overall standings at the conclusion of that race.

With nothing to choose between the top two pairs, Clark acknowledges that the strategy may have to be slightly more attacking than on Saturday.

“We haven’t really thought about how we will approach tomorrow,” added the 36-year-old.

“We’ll have a look at the forecast because that changes things a little bit if it’s windy or light.

“It will probably be quite an attacking mindset though because if you’re equal, you are equal so we’ll need to be attacking.”

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.