James Coxon has done something few sailors can claim: walked away from the sport, broken world records on a bike, and come back to beat the fleet.
The Welshman leads the Para Inclusive One Person Multihull standings at the halfway point of the World Sailing Inclusion Championships in Portimão, Portugal, sailing a Challenger trimaran, an unlikely twist in a career that has taken several turns.
Coxon started out in Lasers, spending time on the British squad before stepping away from competitive sailing after university. He was later diagnosed with a rare form of motor neurone disease that stopped his left arm from working.
That diagnosis pushed him towards para-cycling, and then towards recumbent cycling, where he built an extraordinary record. Forced to retire from work, he decided to commit himself fully to the sport.
"I managed to break, I think, four world records in my time cycling, and then the last one was just a couple of weeks ago," he said, referring to his latest Masters 1-hour two-wheel recumbent world record.
Getting there meant 15 to 20 hours a week on the bike, he said, "mostly on my own in a shed on a trainer."
Eventually, though, sailing pulled him back.
"You just can't beat the feel of sailing," he said. "You can't beat the feel of being on the water and feeling the wind in the sheets, the sail, looking at the wind shifts.
"There's so much to it, compared to cycling on a bike especially. There's just so much to it and it's just a lovely feel."
That instinct is being rewarded in Portugal. Coxon added two further race wins and a second from Wednesday's three races, stretching his lead over fellow Britons Val Millward and Bex Foulsham.
Competing at the Inclusion Championships for the first time, Coxon has also been struck by the scale of what he has found in Portimão.
"There's so many people with different needs doing fantastically well," he said. "Takes your breath away. It's just a lovely, lovely atmosphere."
"I'm loving the sailing again in international competition," he said. "It's fantastic."
Elsewhere on the water, sailors delivered standout performances once the breeze finally filled in.
Portugal's José Campos took another three race wins in the Inclusive Cognitive Impairment (ILCA 6) fleet, ahead of teammate Rodrigo Pereira. In the Para Intellectual Impairment (ILCA 6) class, Hong Kong China's Tsz Hin Cheung holds the advantage over St Kitts and Nevis sailor Elijah Walters and Trinidad and Tobago's Ivan Stollmeyer.
Finland continues to dominate the Para Inclusive One Person Technical Keelboat (2.4mR) fleet, filling the top four spots. Marko Dahlberg added two more wins and a fourth to lead Rikard Bjurström, with Niko Salomaa third.
Sweden's Fia Fjelddahl and Patric Rosenberg lead the Para Inclusive Two Person Keelboat (RS Venture Connect) fleet by two points over Spain's Pau Toni Homar and Ramón Gutiérrez.
Great Britain's Lucy Hodges, Jamie Tylecote, Liam Cattermole and Steve Tylecote remain on top of the Vision Impairment RS21 league, ahead of Spain's Dani Anglada Pich, Carmen Lopez Garcia, Jordi Sánchez Pérez and Monica Azon Canalda.
Germany's Jens Kroker broke a three-way tie at the top of the Para Inclusive One Person Keelboat (Hansa 303) standings with two race wins, moving ahead of overnight leader Gauthier Bril of France and Poland's Piotr Cichocki.
Cichocki, sailing the Inclusive Two Person Keelboat (Hansa 303) with Joanna Cichocka, pulled further clear with another win and a third, now 11 points ahead of Korea's Mun Sungwon and Dongjin Yun.
In the Inclusive Wingfoil demonstration event, Britain's Charlie Wolf holds a four-point lead over France's Guillaume Colin after nine races, the pair having shared the wins between them on Wednesday.
The championships continue in Portimão until Saturday 10 October, delivered in partnership with Vela Solidária, the Municipality of Portimão and the Portuguese Sailing Federation, with backing from the America's Cup.
