THE future of sailing is in good hands if the strong representation of young people at the MSC Week regatta, hosted offshore of Durban by the Point Yacht Club from July 7 to 11, is anything to go by.

Out of 134 sailors that participated in the week-long event, over 30 of them were children under the age of 18 who were crewing on a variety of local and visiting yachts while making the most of their school holidays. The tally included two youth boats competing in the L26 Nationals, run by Durban High School and Glenwood High School.

Taking the overall honours in the L26 Nationals was Element, which had Eden School matric learner Matthew Jolley crewing on it. His fellow learner Anna Correa, a Grade 12 learner, also shone at the regatta, skippering Velocity to an impressive third place in the L26 Nationals.

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“This was my first time skippering a sailboat offshore and in a race,” said Correa. “I worked hard and gave it my all, and I’m overall really happy with how I did. It was tiring, but so worth it.” Jolley and Correa were fresh from successfully competing in the Marriott Mirror Worlds under the recently launched MH Performance Sailing and had their skills tested.

“The conditions were definitely tricky, shifting from strong winds on one day to hardly a breeze the next, which definitely tested a range of skills. I’m so thankful that I had the support of the MH Performance Sailing team,” said Correa.

Finishing sixth overall was Chaz Hansen, skippering Glenwood’s Container World for the first time in this event. Hansen and his team had a competitive time offshore, including leading the fleet around the turning mark, and anchored ship on the horizon on day two in the long-distance race to uMhlanga and back, running in the front of the L26s for a patch.

“It was an exciting moment. We came third place in that race, 12 seconds behind the first yacht and only two seconds behind the second,” said Hansen. “We definitely improved as the week went on. I set a personal goal of finishing fifth overall, but we ended up sixth, which I’m more than happy with.”

Only one point separated Container World and Cracker, DHS’s entry. Skipper for Cracker, DHS Grade 11 learner, 16-year-old Sohan Seetal, said, “It was comparable to a rollercoaster — enjoyable, but in complete honesty, it had its ups and downs. It wasn’t the result I had hoped for, but I’m grateful for the opportunity and the fantastic support. We all learnt so many lessons over the week and finished in seventh overall.”

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