Cat sailors get the cream with Youth Worlds bronze for GBR
Rupert White and Nikki Boniface ensured a medal-winning finish for RYA Volvo Team GBR at the conclusion of a tough week’s racing at the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships on Friday (15 July).
With light variable winds dominating the regatta throughout, Britain’s young racing talents found the unpredictable shifts in wind and soaring temperatures challenging out on the Croatian waters at Zadar. However, it was White and Boniface in the SL16 catamaran class who rose to the challenge of competing against the world’s best youth sailors as they finished the Championships with a hard-fought bronze medal.
With this being Boniface’s third and final ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships, the eighteen-year-old sailor and her seventeen-year-old helm Rupert White were determined to finish on the podium this time around after Boniface narrowly missed out in the previous two years finish 5th and 4th respectively. The pair, who have been sailing together in the mixed multihull class for almost a year, went into the final race needing to finish above the New Zealand boat to secure the bronze medal. With the wind reaching 16 knots for the first time in the regatta and the pressure on, the British pair finished the Championships off in true style by posting a second place in their final race securing the bronze medal.
“It feels amazing to finally win a medal at the ISAF Youth Worlds and I am just so excited. It feels like all my hard work has eventually paid off which is a great feeling,” said Boniface.
“It has been really intense racing all week with results all over the place and the level of racing has been excellent. The conditions have been tricky with massive shifts in wind but the last couple of days have picked up and we really started to enjoy it.”
“We entered the final race with a three point lead over the New Zealanders but we decided to just forget about the points and just treat it like it was any other race. We knew it was our last race in the regatta so we just wanted to enjoy it and have a fun day out on the water. It was a great feeling to finish the final race in second as we knew then that we had won a medal – it’s just amazing!”
In the 420 class, Jess Lavery/ Georgie Mothersele and Craig Dibb/Charlie Cox, both ISAF Youth Worlds debutants, finished the Championships off with top ten finishes which is a fantastic achievement in such a highly competitive class. The girls finished ninth overall whilst the 420 boys had a small chance of making the podium at the beginning of the day, however with results not going their way finished seventh overall.
“It has been a great experience and we have loved every minute of it. We are really happy to have finished in the top ten and we have learnt a huge amount for future regattas. Our communication has improved and we have now got the confidence to race in bigger fleets. We know we are competitive when racing against the World’s best so are now looking forward to future events where we can apply what we have learnt,” explained Lavery.
Solid and consistent performances over the seven days also earned RS:X 8.5 sailors Sam Sills and Jade Rogers top ten finishes with a sixth and seventh respectively.
Rogers said: “The unexpected wind yesterday was brilliant for me as I posted some great results. The event has been really well organised and the racing has been really intense. Overall it has just been a fantastic experience and I’m over the moon to have finished within the top ten.”
Rheanna Pavey finished 36th overall in the girls Laser Radial class although demonstrated she has potential by posting two thirteenth places yesterday and a fourth in the final race.
“This event has been really hard but it’s been a great experience. I feel I have improved my racing and just hope I can come back next year and do better,” said Pavey.
Duncan Truswell, RYA Racing Youth Manager, commented: “This week has been really tough for the sailors but I am overjoyed for Rupert and of course Nicky who has been such an asset to RYA Volvo Team GBR for the last few years, she carried the flag and has epitomised our values all week.
“Many sailors from the team would have been in with a shot at a medal on a different week in Zadar in the more stereotypical conditions, we didn’t get that, it was extremely light and fickle some days, but they hung in there, dug deep, and stuck to the processes really believing in themselves even when their confidence was taking a bit of a battering in the light Mediterranean style conditions.
“To bounce back when the breeze got up and really show their potential despite such a hot, long and draining week of competition was great. The bottom line is we are not very quick in the conditions that were prevalent for most of the regatta, it is what it is, we are inexperienced because we just don’t see those conditions in the UK and we don’t get enough time in similar conditions to really mix it with the world’s best.”
Truswell concluded: “However, every dog has his day, and not only are we on the pace when the breeze came up, even a little but it’s also clear that we are breeding passionate, robust and intelligent sailors. Their toughness was the most impressive thing for me. From here, all the sailors have great opportunities to address their weaknesses and come back with strong performances later in the summer or next year – roll on Ireland 2012, it promises to be a great event and I look forward to some wind, and rain, I’d even welcome some fog right now!
For the full line-up of RYA Volvo Team GBR sailors at the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships 2011 and for full results, information and daily blogs from the British camp - please visit the event website or follow the team on Facebook.
