HAMPSHIRE Olympic sailing star Pippa Wilson is hitting the water for the first time since winning gold in Beijing – but this time she’s doing it alone.

The 23-year-old from Lymington, one third of the victorious Yngling crew dubbed ‘Three Blondes in a Boat’, will return to the international circuit for the Delta Lloyd Regatta, the fifth leg of the ISAF Sailing World Cup, in Medemblik, Netherlands, sailing a Laser Radial.

Pippa’s London 2012 campaign has been put on temporary hold because fellow gold medallist and crew member Sarah Dempsey is in the latter stages of pregnancy.

She said: “I needed a challenge and this was the best choice – but even so it’s been a pretty massive change.”

The Delta Lloyd Regatta runs until Sunday.