British Youth Sailing Team confirmed for Youth Sailing World Championships
by Will Carson, RYA 19 Apr 2018 11:55 BST
14-21 July 2018
Vita Heathcote and Milly Boyle in action © Marc Turner / RYA
Fourteen of Great Britain's most promising young sailors have been selected to represent their country at the Youth Sailing World Championships.
The talented youngsters, all aged 18 or under, will represent the British Youth Sailing Team in nine classes at the prestigious regatta being held in Corpus Christi, Texas, from 14-21 July this year.
The sailors picked for the team were singled out for their performances in the 29er, 420, Nacra 15, and Laser Radial dinghies plus the RS:X windsurfer at select regattas including the recent RYA Youth National Championships.
Previous Youth Worlds winners include some of Britain's greatest ever sailors such as the world's most decorated Olympic sailor Sir Ben Ainslie and and 2008 Beijing gold medallist Pippa Wilson.
Among those selected for the 2018 team is 29er helm Ewan Wilson (Wormit Boating Club), the youngest in the team at just 14 years old. Sailing with 16-year-old crew Finlay Armstrong, Wilson is looking forward to challenging himself in new surroundings.
"It's going to be amazing to sail outside of Europe," he said. "I've heard the winds are really good in America as well so I'm excited.
"It's also exciting to be part of a big sailing team because we only usually sail as individuals or as a pair."
Vita Heathcote, 16, the 420 girls representative added: "I've never sailed in America before so I'm really excited about that."
Helm Heathcote (Royal Lymington Yacht Club), who will sail with crew Milly Boyle, is also relishing the chance to show her maturity off the water in the USA.
"I think that we will feel more as part of a team around the boat park as our parents won't be there - that means we have to deal with everything between ourselves," she said.
"It's a chance for us to show our independence. It's going to be great to mix with new people, not just from other classes but from other countries too which is really exciting."
In typical RS:X style, boys representative Isaac Lines (Toward Sailing Club) was not short of excitement at the news of his selection.
"I'm buzzing," the 18-year-old said. "So, so happy to be selected. I'm just excited to get some extra training in, test myself against the best in the world and see what I can bring home."
Lines calmed down a little to sign off with a heart-felt statement, saying: "It's a complete honour to represent my country at a major event like the Worlds."
Lines will be joined by 17-year-old girls' RS:X athlete Islay Watson (Loch Insh) who finished runner-up at the RS:X Youth Nationals.
Matilda Nichols (RLymYC) and Jake Bowhay (Stokes Bay Sailing Club) will contest the Laser Radial class, and the girls' 29er spot goes to Freya Black and Millie Aldridge (Parkstone Yacht Club).
Rhys Lewis and Drew Wright (Cardiff Bay Yacht Club) were picked in the boys' 420 class while William Smith and Abigail Clarke (Grafham Water Sailing Club) will race the Nacra 15 multihull.
"With the timing of the Youth Worlds this year it was a great opportunity for us to select in-form sailors," said Mark Nicholls, the RYA's Youth Racing Manager.
"Our Youth Nationals is always a great indicator of who will represent the team at an international level anyway, but this year it was even more important to us.
"All the sailors we selected were top in their age group. Congratulations to all the sailors who have been selected."
The British Youth Sailing Team for the 2018 Youth Sailing World Championships:
420
Girls: Vita Heathcote (16) and Milly Boyle (17) – Royal Lymington Yacht Club
Boys: Rhys Lewis (16) and Drew Wright (16) – Cardiff Bay Yacht Club
29er
Girls: Freya Black (16) and Millie Aldridge (17) – Parkstone Sailing Club
Boys: Ewan Wilson (14 – Wormit Boating Club) and Finley Armstrong (16 – Royal Thames Yacht Club)
Laser Radial
Girls: Matilda Nicholls (16) – Royal Lymington Yacht Club
Boys: Jake Bowhay (17) – Stokes Bay Sailing Club
RS:X
Girls: Islay Watson (17) – Loch Insh
Boys: Isaac Lines (18) – Toward Sailing Club
Nacra 15
William Smith (16) and Abigail Clarke (17) - Grafham Water Sailing Club