Young Brits set the standard in Youth World Championships opener
by Will Carson, RYA 17 Jul 2018 12:18 BST
14-21 July 2018
Islay Watson © Jen Edney / World Sailing
Windsurfer Islay Watson and 420 duo Milly Boyle and Vita Heathcote got their World Championship campaigns off to a blistering start in a blustery opening day.
Scots athlete Watson shot out of the blocks to record a 3, 2, 1 in the 17-strong girls' RS:X fleet as the week-long regatta got underway in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Monday.
The 18-year-old's trio of podiums saw her end the day in second overall, just one point behind early leader Veerle ten Have of New Zealand.
Meanwhile on the girls' 420 race course, a fourth and a second was enough to secure Hampshire pair Boyle and Heathcote the runners up spot going into day two.
The British Youth Sailing Team was greeted with a steady 15-knot breeze as the world's best young sailors met for the opening clashes of this year's World Championships, the pinnacle of the racing season.
With four more days of competition remaining, and decent breeze forecast for the rest of the week, Watson said she was excited to get stuck in again when racing resumes at 1800 UK time.
"The conditions on day one were really nice – plenty of wind!" said Watson, from Aviemore.
"I had three good races, and I'm feeling good about the event. We've got four more days to go and I'm really looking forward to getting back out there and seeing what I can do."
Watson's Scottish compatriot Isaac Lines finished the day in eighth in the 27-competitor boys' RS:X fleet.
Dunoon's Lines, who was crowned British national youth champion in May, posted a trio of strong results to remain in contention at this early stage.
In the 46-boat girls' Laser Radial fleet, 17-year-old Matilda Nicholls from Durley, Hants, ended day one in eighth overall thanks to a 12th and an eighth in the class's two races.
Fellow Hampshire sailor Jake Bowhay, 18, from Bishops Waltham, didn't fare so well in the boys' Laser Radial, ending up 48th out of 58 after being disqualified from the opening race for starting early.
Boys' 420 pair Rhys Lewis, 17, from Penarth, and Drew Wright, 17, from Much Wenlock, Shropshire, also had a challenging start to their campaign – a 12th and a 20th in the opening two races sees them go into the second day in 18th overall.
Britain's boys and girls 29er outfits both worked their way into the top half of the table.
Freya Black, 17, from Cranbrook, Kent, and Millie Aldridge, 17, from Poole, Dorset, sit 11th in the 23-boat girls' fleet while Ewan Wilson, 15, from Fife, Scotland, and Fin Armstrong, 17, from Totnes in Devon, lie 10th out of 25.
In the Nacra 15 mixed multihull, William Smith, 17, from Buntingford, Herts, and Abigail Clarke, 18, from Rushden, Northants, go into day two in 12th overall.
Full results can be found here
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 Torbay 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