Sailors hoping for good conditions in France
HARD work has paid off for three young Port Elizabeth sailors who will be part of the six-man team to represent South Africa at the RS Tera World Championships being held in Carnac in Brittany, France, in July.
Looking to fly the South African flag high are Cameron Hills, 14, from Elsen Academy, Jamie McGillivray, 13, from Clarendon Park Primary, and Luke Weddell, 15, from Grey High School.
The trio qualified at the provincial championships and youth nationals that were held last year and will be competing individually in the world championships.
Hills and McGillivray will be competing with Tera Sport boats in the Sport fleet category while Weddell will be using a Tera Pro boat in the Professional category.
“We would like to make Port Elizabeth and South Africa proud in France. Getting to the top 10 is our aim for this year,” McGillivray said.
“The wind conditions there are a bit of a concern because they could prove a [deciding] factor for us.”
Redhouse Yacht Club coach John McGillivray said: “We are very proud that half of the South African team is from Port Elizabeth and that the sport is being recognised by locals in a positive way.”
The team will be sailing for five consecutive days on a gruelling 45-minute course.
The others in the SA team are Henning Kock, Cameron Clark and Rhys Whitfield from Cape Town.
The team will have a two-day training camp in France where they will acclimatise and strategise for the competition.
The six are looking to use the worlds event to qualify for the upcoming Olympic Games.