Sullivan Nakatsu records best-ever Canadian performance in men's ILCA 6 at Youth Sailing Worlds

Sullivan Nakatsu records best-ever Canadian performance in men's ILCA 6 at 2024 Youth Sailing World Championships © Sail Canada

Sullivan Nakatsu from Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia, took the 10th spot overall in men's ILCA 6 at the 2024 Youth Sailing World Championships, which ended Friday in Lake Garda, Italy. He therefore registered the best-ever Canadian performance in the history of that competition in that class.

Through the nine races held during the week, Sullivan Nakatsu finished two times in the top 10 to finish the event in 10th place.

Since the introduction of men's ILCA 6 at the annual Youth Sailing World Championships in 2009, Canada's best performance in the event had been a 12th-place finish by Sullivan Nakatsu at last year's edition.

"It was really cool and just an awesome experience. It was on my bucket list to come here; just so cool with the mountains and just everything around. So it's amazing that I was able to sail and race here," said Sullivan Nakatsu. "I definitely knew the competition was going to be pretty stiff. One of my good friends and one of my mentors, Ryan Anderson, who came here before me, pushed me really hard. It was really awesome to find my way into the history books with those guys. And coming up with that performance here, it's pretty awesome."

Nikhil Damji earns Bengt Julin Trophy

Following the event, Nikhil Damji from Vancouver received the Bengt Julin Trophy for the 2024 Youth Sailing World Championships.

As voted by sailors and coaches taking part in the event, the Bengt Julin Trophy, which is named after philanthropist Bengt Julin, an international judge and strong supporter of inclusion in sailing, is awarded to a competitor or a nation that has displayed the best behaviour and treatment of others throughout the competition, and has done the most to foster international understanding and sportsmanship, while displaying the attributes that should be encouraged in international competition.

Following are the Canadian results at the 2024 Youth Sailing World Championships:

ILCA 6 (M - /62)

10. Sullivan Nakatsu (Hammonds Plains, N.S.-RNSYS)

ILCA 6 (W - /53)

25. Elspeth Simms (Halifax, N.S.-RNSYS)

29er (W - /24)

19. Riley Macaulay (Halifax, N.S.-RNSYS) & Ally Jones (Toronto, ON)

29er (M/Mixed - /29)

24. Callum Ruch (Toronto, ON-ABYC) & Nicole Otton (Toronto, ON-RCYC)

i420 (W - /19)

19. Claire Podolsky (Toronto, ON-RCYC) & Maggie Tripp (Toronto, ON-RCYC)

i420 (M/Mixed - /24)

20. Emil Damji (Vancouver, B.C.-WVYC) & Nikhil Damji (Vancouver, B.C.-WVYC)

iQFoil (M - /38)

36. Thomas Hung (Vancouver, B.C.-RVYC)

Kiteboarding (M - /14)

10. Nathan Pearce (North Vancouver, B.C.-RVYC)

Kiteboarding (W - /6)

6. Claire Ramsay (Kelowna, B.C.-RVYC)

The Youth Sailing World Championships are an important stepping stone for sailors as they progress towards the Canadian Sailing Team and Development Squad. The event has been held annually since 1971 except for the 2020 edition, which was cancelled because of the pandemic. Among the many sailors who have competed in past editions of the Youth Sailing World Championships are Georgia Lewin-LaFrance, Ryan Wood, Coralie Vittecoq, Sam Bonin, Ryan Anderson, Annie Balasubramanian and Clara Gravely, as well as 2020 Tokyo Olympic Canadian Team member Ali ten Hove, who did so in 2012 and 2013.