49er Team Griggs set for nationals as 'youngest ever' team
by Nick Griggs 10 Sep 2015 15:19 BST
12-13 September 2015
49er Team Griggs © 49er Team Griggs
Royal Torbay Yacht Club Juniors, Max Griggs, 17, & his brother Cody Griggs, 14, are getting ready to represent RTYC at the 49er / 49er FX National Championships at Hayling Island Sailing Club this weekend.
The Brixham based brothers have been racing an RS Feva together at an international level since 2009 and would have usually moved up into the ranks of a 29er Skiff, but they both took the decision to skip the 29er and move straight into a 49er Olympic Class Skiff, making them the 'youngest ever' competing team to race a 49er at a National or International level! The boys have now fitted their boat with a brand new Carbon FX Rig and have been regularly getting wet learning how to sail the beast for the past year. They made there race debut in the Asymmetric Dinghy class at this year's Torbay Royal Regatta in August and managed to finish most races with a commanding lead with their best being over 6 minutes out in front of the fleet, but the 49er FX is a very fast boat and has a massive handicap so the lead was not quite big enough to secure them any better than a top five placing, but all this has done is spur them on to practise harder to increase their boat speed and technique so they are improved for the Nationals.
The boys initial goal is to secure place in the British Sailing Team over the next two years that would give them access to an intense RYA Training programme that will take them into international waters to represent Great Britain and their long term goal to qualify for GBR Sailing Team at the 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo, but until that day they are committed to training hard through the winter months to improve their game so they are ready for the full calendar of events they have already lined up for the 2016 UK & International racing season!
If you would like to follow the boys on their journey please log on to facebook and Like '49er Team Griggs', where you will receive on going posts & pictures along with Go-Pro action videos documenting their fame, fortunes and 'full on fails' along with updates about the boys progress!