Point Yacht Club
Youth World Championships
Sanya, China: 10 – 15 December
Durban’s sailing prodigy, Benji Daniel is about to hit
Chinese waters as he takes on 19 other nations at the Youth World
Championships.
The 47th edition takes place at Sanya Beach on
Hainan Island, in the south of China with race days scheduled from the 10 – 15
December. With an expected 400 sailors from 70 countries, the crème-de-la-crème
of the next generation of international sailors, under the age of 19 will go up
against each other in nine classes. Only one team from each nation is selected
to participate in each class.
Daniel, who was crowned the 29er World Champion in
Alamitos Bay, Long Beach in August, will be changing it up. He trades in his
familiar 29er to compete in the 420 class and will be sailing with the
promising talent, Rivaldo Arendse from Cape Town.
Point Yacht Club’s star sailor will be heading to his
third youth world champs, having raced in the 29er fleet with Durban’s Chad
Stevenson in Langkawi, Malaysia in 2015 and then in Auckland, New Zealand last
December, finishing both times towards the back of the fleet. His raw talent
was revealed when, in an impromptu pairing with Cape Town’s Alex Burger,
ignited them onto the international stage, and ultimately the top spot on the
29er podium.
The hard-working, modest sailor stated, “We are heading
to China with realistic expectations. For Rivaldo and me, this is very much a
getting to know you phase. We have never sailed competitively together before,
and aren’t hugely familiar with the 420s so we aren’t going to put any
unnecessary pressure on ourselves!
“Rivaldo is a really nice guy, he is 14 and I have just
recently turned 17. Youths is going to be his biggest event yet. We are both
really excited, and justifiably nervous as well. The other teams have a few of
years on us, and have the advantage of sailing competitively together in
massive regattas. It will be a major learning curve for us but so long as we
stick to the basics, we will be alright.”
With his last exam scheduled for the 1st of
December, the Grade 11 pupil at Thomas More College will be putting his pen
down, handing in his paper, and then dashing to the airport to fly down to Cape
Town for some last-minute training with coach, former Olympic sailor Roger
Hudson.
“It has been an unexpectedly exciting year. School and exams
have been my main focus, so I can start the process of applying for uni.
Between the chaos of school, I have been doing loads of quick trips down to
Cape Town for training, firstly with Alex leading up to the 29er Worlds and now
for the Youth Worlds. Having jetted off to Long Island beach in July and now to
be representing South Africa lining up against some awesome sailors in China,
it all seems quite surreal.”
Sailing under the shadow of one of the tallest statues in
the world, the Guang Yin will see 70 Nations competing in the 47th
Youth World Championship taking place on the island of Hainan.
For more info visit www.pyc.co.za
or like the club’s Facebook page.
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