Briggs set for action in Portimao

Wednesday 10th September 2008, 2:29PM BST.

JAMES BRIGGS is mixing it with the best windsurfers on the planet at the 2008 Formula Windsurfing World Championships in Portimao, Portugal, this week.

The 33-year-old Sarnian (pictured), who won gold in the sailboarding event at the 2005 NatWest Island Games in Shetland, has spent most of the summer travelling round Europe preparing for the tournament.

He had competed in top windsurfing events in Poland and at the prestigious Engadin Marathon race on Lake Silvaplana in Switzerland. Briggs arrived in Portugal last week.

‘I was pleased to have got here a few days early as this provided some time on the water with the other competitors while not in a race situation and allowed the opportunity for some equipment tuning together with becoming familiar with the local conditions,’ he said.