Monty Desforges and Jess Watson led the way with fifth and sixth-placed finishes in the ILCA 6 class, with Desforges only missing out on an individual medal by a single point after 10 races and five days of competition.
And their efforts were ably backed up by veteran pair Darragh Lee and Dave Aslett, who placed seventh and 11th in the ILCA 7s to seal team bronze.
‘I am completely buzzing about it,’ said eight-time Games sailor Lee, who is set to bow out after Orkney.
‘It’s more than I could have asked for. I was hopeful we could get a team medal, but it means so, so much. It’s really pulled on my heart.’
‘When I came off the water and Monty ran up to me and told me the news, I actually started crying.'
While the Isle of Wight’s Oliver Mayo claimed gold after a relentless week at the front of the ILCA 6 fleet, Desforges saved his best effort for the last race.
He made perfect use of the light winds he had been waiting for all week to register Guernsey’s first race win in his final outing on the Orkney water.
‘It was such a moment, I had quite a good start and we thought there would be a little bit more breeze on the right hand side of the race track, which came in,’ he said. ‘So I was the first boat to hook into that and we just held on, which felt really amazing.
‘The whole team has worked so hard and we’ve had such a consistent series.’
But with sailing missing from the schedules for at least the next two events in the Faroe Islands and Isle of Man, it could be some time before Guernsey sailors will have the chance to chase Island Games medals again.
And that prospect has made it an extra special week for Lee, who has been sailing alongside a long-time team-mate in Aslett and a promising up-and-coming duo in Desforges and Watson.
‘I’ve done about four or five Games with Dave and sailed with him for all my life,’ he said.
‘He’s an amazing guy to do it with so I’m super proud of that.
‘And with Monty and Jess, the new upcoming stars – if they’re not stars already – they’re an amazing pair to do this with.
‘They’re so enthusiastic and they’re so in the detail, so if I don’t do any more of these, Island Games sailing is in great hands with those two.’
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