13 regional winners for the MDL YJA Young Sailor of the Year

The British Nautical Awards regional winners of this year's MDL YJA 'Young Sailor of the Year' Award have been announced. This is the second successive year that MDL (Marina Developments Limited) has sponsored the YJA (Yachting Journalists' Association) Young Sailor of the Year Award, which is designed to recognise endeavour and achievement by young sailors in any discipline of the sport. Organised in co-operation with the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) and their 13 regions, the winners are:

East (Joint winners):

Sam Carter, 16, from Debenham, Suffolk
Sam is a pupil at Woodbridge School and a member of the Combined Cadet Force (RN), Waldringfield Sailing Club, Havenports Yacht Club and the RYA Youth Squad. This year he has won the UK Inland Championships at Rutland, the Cadet Flanders Youth Regatta at Niewport in Belgium, the Cadet World Championships in Poland and the MDL Cadet National Championships at Torquay. Sam is the first person to win all four of these major events in one year as well as being the first Briton to win the World's for ten years.

Katie Archer, 18, from Woodbridge, Suffolk
Katie, who is on a gap year to concentrate on sailing before going to university to study sports medicine, is a member of the Waldringfield and Felixstowe Ferry Sailing Clubs and National Youth Squad. This year her achievements include scoring the best performance ever in a Laser Radial by a British youth girl, is National and World Laser Radial Female Champion and is undefeated in any Radial Championship this year.

East Midlands:

Simon Marks, 16, from Pitsford, Northants
Simon, studying for his A' Level's at Moulton School, Northants, began sailing at the age of six. A qualified RYA Instructor, he enjoys teaching at the Northampton Sailing Club where he is a member. Achievements this year include 1st at the Stokes Bay 29er GUL Grand Prix, 1st at the National Schools Sailing Association (NSSA) Spring Championships at Oxford, 3rd at the 29er Europeans in Holland and 1st British Boat at the 29er Worlds in Lake Garda, Italy, finishing 6th overall.

North East:

Thomas Dawson, 15, from Whitburn, Tyne & Wear
Thomas, a pupil at King's School, Tynemouth, started sailing at the age of 10. A member of the Sunderland Yacht Club, he only started to race in 1999 when he bought a 405. This year he was selected to the National Squad and was 1st UK sailor in the UK 405 Nationals and 3rd overall. He achieved a 1st in the Volvo RYA Youth and Junior Championships and was 1st UK Sailor in the Danish 405 Nationals, coming 4th overall.

Northern Ireland:

Keir Clarke, 15, from Bangor, Co. Down
Keir, a pupil at the Sullivan Opera School in Holywood is a member of the Ballyholm and Stangford Lough Sailing Clubs. This year in the Topper Worlds at Cushendall, Northern Ireland Keir was 10th overall and 1st Irish Boat. He is Northern Ireland Youth and Junior Champion, Northern Ireland Topper Champion, Irish Open Topper Champion, Irish Closed Topper Champion. Also in Toppers he is the Connaught Champion and the Ulster Champion as well as being the Irish Champion in the 4.7 Laser class.

North West:

Andrew Brooks, 15, from Ramsbottom, Lancashire
Andrew, a pupil at St Gabriel's RC High School in Bury, has been sailing since the age of nine and is a member of the Elton Sailing Club, the Leigh and Loton Sailing Club and the Topper British Squad. This year Andrew's achievements include 1st at the National Championships in North Berwick, Scotland and 3rd at the World Championships in Cushendall, Northern Ireland, as well as wins at the East Area Championships, North West Area Travellers and the RYA North West Region Championships.

Scotland:

Luke Patience, 14, from Rhu, Helensburgh
Luke, a pupil at Hermitage Academy, Helensburgh, started sailing at the age of eight and is a member of the Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club. Luke's achievements this year include 6th in the British Optimist team trials, 4th place in the Optimist European Championships at Lake Garda in Italy and 1st in the Scottish Nationals, Scottish Travellers and the Irish Nationals.

South (Joint Team Winners):

Thomas Weeks, 16, from Gosport, Hampshire and John Pink, 17, from Hill Head, Fareham, Hampshire
Students at the St Vincent College in Gosport and members of the 29er National Youth Squad, John (helm) and Thomas (crew) have been sailing together for over 4 years. Among their successes this year are winning the 29er Nationals at Weymouth, the 29er Europeans at Medimblik, Holland and the Southern Regional Youth Championships. Also, at the National Schools Regatta at Plymouth, they won the Fast Handicap Class, as well as the Mount Hayes Trophy for sailing a Bosun.

South East:

Helen Mayhew, 17, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Helen started competitive sailing at Sevenoaks School, two years ago. This year, crewing with Christina Bassadone, they were Ladies Champions at the 420 Open National Championships and placed as top woman and 2nd overall in the selection series for the 420 Open World's teams. They won the 420 Women 's Worlds in La Rochelle - the first British win in over 25 years and making Helen the youngest sailor ever to win this event for the UK.

South West:

Andrew Walsh, 18, from Truro, Cornwall
This is the third year running that Andrew won this Award. Currently studying Exercise and Sports Science at Exeter University, Andrew began sailing at the age of 10. With a national ranking in an open laser of 6th, his achievements for 2000 include 1st at the Laser National Youth Championships, 1st in the Flanders International Youth Regatta Radials in Belgium and 4th in the silver fleet at the Laser Open World Championships in Mexico. An RYA Youth Squad Member and qualified RYA Dinghy Instructor, Andrew has recently been invited to be a member of the Olympic development squad.

Thames Valley:

Bryony Shaw, 17, from Headington, Oxford
Bryony, a student at Cheney School in Headington, Oxford, has been windsurfing since she was 12 years old. A windsurfer champion, she uses the Olympic Mistral Board and this year has achieved 1st Mistral Girl and 1st Olympic Lady in the North Sea Cup Series, which took place in Holland, Belgium, England and France, and 1st Mistral Youth Girl in the UK Board Sailing Association (UKBSA) National Series.

Wales:

David Evans, 14, from Lisvane, Cardiff
David, a pupil at Llanishen High School, has been sailing since the age of eight and is a member of the British Steel Sailing Club. This year, he was a silver medallist in the Optimist European Championships at Lake Garda in Italy, which is the highest place Wales has ever achieved in this event. He was also a silver medallist in the Optimist National Championships at Plymouth.

West Midlands:

Sarah Allen, 16, from Stourbridge, West Midlands
Sarah, a pupil at Grange School, Pedmore, began sailing an Optimist at the age of six and is a member of the Chelmarsh Sailing Club, where she is also an assistant instructor. Sarah is West Midland and East Coast GP14 Champion with wins this year including the First Lady Helm at the GP14 Inland Championships in Northampton and the GP14 World Championships in South Africa. Sarah was 1st overall at the GP14 Ladies Championships in Trimpley and took 1st Bronze at the GP14 North Wales Area Championships and 1st Bronze fleet at the National Championships in Mumbles, Wales.

Yorkshire & Humberside:

Georgie Hill, 17, from Norfolk Park, Sheffield
Georgie, a student at All Saints School in Sheffield and a member of the Ully Sailing Club, started sailing in a Mirror in 1995. Her achievements this year include being Splash National Champion and Top Female Helm both at the Yorkshire & Humberside Regional Youth Championships and the Yorkshire Youth Circuit in the 420 fleet. Also, as tactician in a J24, Georgie was part of the runner-up team at the Regional Youth Match Racing Regatta in Yorkshire

Chris English, CEO of the British Nautical Awards said, "We have been amazed by the high standard and quality of the nominations for this year's MDL YJA 'Young Sailor of the Year'. It was a tough decision to choose our regional winners and I am delighted that we have so many outstanding young sailors out there."

From the nominations received from the 13 RYA regions, the YJA (Yachting Journalists' Association) committee, with advice from representatives of the RYA and MDL, will select a short-list of three from which the YJA members will then elect the overall winner. The short list will be announced on 13th November 2000.

The results of all ten categories in the British Nautical Awards, dubbed the 'Oscars' of the British boating scene, will be announced on Friday, 5th January 2001 during the Boat Show Ball at the London Hilton, Park Lane. Tickets, priced at £95 per person plus VAT, are available from the Ticket Desk on 020 7724 8917. For further information visit the website on www.nauticalawards.com