Successful summer for Yacht Club boys

7:30am Thursday 13th November 2008

WHILE the British Olympic Sailing Team was proving that Britain rules the sailing waves, three racers from Penarth Yacht Club were showing that they may well be joining them in coming years.

Oli Harrison, David King and Matt Whitfield achieved some great results in a range of World and National competitions over the summer, and have all gone on to join training squads that are part of the Olympic sailing pyramid.

During the summer, David was in the process of transferring from the Topper class in which he has been sailing for the last three years as part of the British National Squad to the Laser Radial class which is the junior version of the Olympic class in which Paul Goodison won a gold medal for Britain in Qingdao.

His last hurrah in the Toppers was the World Championships in Tralee Bay, Ireland, where he achieved a highly creditable 38th out of 176 competitors.

He then went straight to the Laser Radial Nationals, where he had a baptism of fire with a windy series of races that tested seasoned sailors as well as newcomers. David was not fazed by this, and achieved a respectable 18th out of 51 competitors in the Bronze Fleet. He will now develop his skills in the new boat as part of the Welsh National Sailing Squad during the winter.

While David was battling the wind and waves at Abersoch, Oli and Matt were doing likewise at the Optimist Nationals in nearby Pwllheli. Oli had tuned up for the Nationals by joining the Welsh team competing in the international regatta in Carantec, where he showed that he could match it with sailors from other parts of Europe.

Oli was sailing in the Senior part of the Nationals fleet, alongside the best British and talented overseas sailors aged between 13 and 15. His prime objective was to score as many points as possible in support of his quest for a British National squad place in his last year as an Oppie sailor. He was well pleased with his efforts, 51st British finisher and good ranking points.

Oli then completed the job with a good performance at the last ranking event the End-of-Seasons at Rutland Sailing Club to secure a place in the prestigious Great Britain Intermediate Squad for 2008/9.

Matt was sailing in the junior part of the Oppie Nationals, and became involved in a five-way battle for the championship with three of last year's top five and one of the best American juniors.

It went down to the wire, with Matt, Scott Wallis (last year's National Champion from Spinnaker) and Oliver Grogono (from Cornwall) all within two points going in to the last race.

At one stage during the windy finale Matt had the overall lead on the water, but a stunning last beat from Oliver snatched the championship from his grasp. Unlike the other contenders, Matt is young enough to have another go at the juniors, so it's all to play for at Largs next year. Two weeks later, he was thrilled to win the Welsh Optimist Championships on Cardiff Bay.

After the End-of-Seasons, Matt was ranked 17th on the UK rankings, and has thereby re-confirmed his place in the British National Squad, and has gained a place in the elite British Invitational Training squad.

Financial support from the Welsh Yachting Association, and for Matthew from Asda and the Sports Council, has helped the boys with their travels.

All the boys have benefited massively from the efforts of the sail training coaches at Penarth Yacht Club, especially Laurie Pavelin, who has been the club's Sail Training Officer for many a long year. Laurie is stepping down from this role at the end of the year, and it is fitting that his last year should involve such stunning success by three of his trainees.

They are the latest in a long line of sailors from PYC who have achieved major success in the international sailing arena.

Who knows, one of them might well emulate the club's Ian Barker and achieve a medal in Britain's most successful Olympic sport!