WEYMOUTH-based Giles Scott got his 2015 sailing seasons off to a great start with two race victories on a high octane first day of competition at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami on Monday.

Those who had prayed for more breeze after last year’s light winds certainly got what they wished for, as 36-knot squalls made for a tough and physical test in Biscayne Bay.

But Finn star Scott, the Sonar trio of John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas, and Laser Radial sailor Alison Young revelled in the heavy conditions to lay down the perfect start to their regattas – and even an intense morning downpour couldn’t dampen their spirits.

Scott, defending his 2014 title, shrugged off talk of extending his 15-month winning streak, insisting “it’s just another regatta”, but he too set the pace on the first day of this six-day World Cup competition.

The Finn world and European champion fended off Australia’s Jake Lilley in the first race with team-mate Ed Wright in third, while it was a tight battle with Croatia’s Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic in race two before Scott once again came out on top.

“We had a lot of breeze coming offshore, so it was very windy and very shifty but we got two races in pretty quickly and they both went very well and I managed to come away with a victory in both,” he said. “It was a good start.

“In the second race it was the top end of what we can race in, but looking at the long range forecast I think it will be a bit of a mixed bag this week, so hopefully we’ll get all the conditions in.

“The fleet’s certainly very, very strong and it will certainly be a hard week.”

Britain’s 470 crews also saw a strong start to their regattas. Portland-based Luke Patience and Elliot Willis won the day in the men’s division with a race win and a second to put them on top of the leaderboard.

Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark and Sophie Weguelin and Portland-based Eilidh McIntyre took a race win apiece in the women’s fleet and are second and third respectively after two races.

Paralympic champion Helena Lucas picked up a win in the only race for the 2.4mR fleet with Portland’s Megan Pascoe in third, while the SKUD duo of Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell are second overall.

Weymouth’s Nick Dempsey made the most of his 11th-hour admission to the event with provisional scores of 1-2-10 for his opening day.

Meanwhile, Weymouth-based Bryony Shaw and Izzy Hamilton are fifth and sixth after two races in the women’s RS:X windsurfing fleet.

Racing continues until Friday for the Paralympic classes, with the final medal races for the Olympic classes on Saturday.