Santi and Leo win silver in the 29er at Allianz Youth World Sailing Championships
by Tanya Baddeley 15 Jul 16:35 BST
8-15 July 2022
Silver for Santi Sesto Cosby and crew Leo Wilkinson in the 29er at the 2022 Allianz Youth World Sailing Championship © Sailing Energy / World Sailing
Lymington's Santi Sesto Cosby and crew Leo Wilkinson have become silver medallists in the 29er skiff at the Allianz Youth World Sailing Championships.
The Youth Sailing World Championships took place at The Hague from 10th to 15th July 2022. Considered the stepping stone to the World Sailing Championships, the Youth World Championships sees male and female sailors up to the age of 19 years compete at an exceptionally high level. One entrant is selected per country to compete in male windsurfer (iQFOIL), female windsurfer (iQFOIL), male one person dinghy (ILCA 6), female one person dinghy (ILCA 6), male/mixed two persons dinghy (420), female two persons dinghy (420), boys' skiff (29er), girls' skiff (29er), mixed multihull (Nacra 15) and kiteboarding (Formula Kite).
All eyes at Royal Lymington Yacht Club were on Team GB's entry in the boys' skiff. Club member Santi Sesto Cosby and crew Leo Wilkinson were delighted to be selected for the Youth World Sailing Championships after winning the RYA Youth National Championships in April.
Santi and Leo jostled between 3rd and 2nd place during the week after the Argentinians won three bullets on the first day. Lighter conditions prevailed at the start of the week, with rougher seas and stronger wind filling in on the penultimate day - mixing things up nicely for the boats used to sailing in more challenging conditions!
Santi Sesto Cosby said, "I'd like to thank the Royal Lymington Yacht Club for all their support - enabling us to sail every weekend and providing a RIB, as well as the really amazing coaching sessions we had with RLymYC Head Coach Hugh Styles. It's been an incredible year and we have come so so far since we started sailing together in January. Also, I would like to thank the RYA and all the coaches, as well as Lymington Town Council (especially Cllr Jacqui England) and obviously to my Mum and Dad for their endless support and encouragement."
Junior and Youth Head Coach at RLymYC, Hugh Styles, said: "It is fantastic to see Santi and Leo win a silver medal at the Youth World Sailing Championship. In six months they have gone from being a new pairing, to winning the RYA Youth Nationals and now this success.
It's been my pleasure as the Head Coach of the Royal Lymington Yacht Club, to work with them on this journey. I've been impressed by their passion for their sport, their dedication and their commitment to learning every single day. Looking forward to seeing more from this dynamic duo in the future."
Santi's mum, Valeria Sesto, said: "We are very happy for Santi and Leo, that it all came together at the right time. Their result, it's testament of their hard work, passion, commitment and dedication. The boys only had two months to prepare for this event, in the midst of exams, so they based themselves in Lymington every weekend, plus also trained during the week when possible.
We are very grateful to everything that Royal Lymington Yacht Club has done to help, including guaranteeing the use of a RIB for training. Head Coach, Hugh Styles, coached the boys on three occasions, they were also coached by top sailor, Kirstie Urwin. The boys always asked their fellow 29er sailors to join them out on the water and most of the time they had company.
In addition the RYA provided Santi and Leo (and the girls team) with a weekend of coaching in Lymington, with two top RYA coaches.
Over in the Hague, the British team decided to cook their own food every night, instead of eating in the dining room. They took turns to cook very healthy and highly nutritious food. We were very proud to hear Santi was the "master-chef" most nights - he loves cooking!"
Youth and junior sailing has for many years been a strong and important part of Royal Lymington Yacht Club. The Club has a long tradition of encouraging young people into sailing and developing their skills. The aim is to provide many opportunities for young sailors to develop their skills towards competitive racing and a lifetime of boating enjoyment. A few aspire to the pinnacle and thus far seventeen Olympians have started as RLymYC Juniors, with many others achieving success in National, European and World Championships.
For more information about Junior and Youth Sailing at the Royal Lymington Yacht Club visit rlymyc.org.uk. The Club welcomes new members, contact or call 01590 672677.