Swansea sailor Frankie Dickens won a major regatta just a year after getting the chance to try the sport through the OnBoard scheme designed to introduce youngster to sailing and windsurfing.
It was the biggest OnBoard regatta held in Wales, taking place at Acorn Adventures at Llangorse Lake near the Brecon Beacons.
Dickens, from Caswell and a member of Mumbles yacht club, won the Topper class main fleet at the Acorn Llangorse OnBoard Regatta which attracted around 150 sailors ranging from beginners to those hoping to become Wales squad sailors.
It was a coached junior regatta on sheltered waters with Novice fleets for those who have just started or bought their own boats, with the majority having come through the OnBoard scheme.
There was plenty of success for Mumbles, with 7-year-old Dafydd House also getting an award as the youngest helm at the regatta.
Clubmate Sam Thomas won the Optiist Gold Fleet, while Daisy Thomas and Bethany Hughes were second and third respectively in the Topper OnBoard training fleet.
They were behind Thomas Boocock of Cardiff Bay, while clubmate Jamie Cook won the OnBoard Bat fleet in the Optimist class of boat.
The Optimst gold fleet was a Cardiff Bay takeover with every single competitor in the top 10 having some connection with the club.
Shotwick Lake’s Dave Clark held on to the overall title despite the challenges from Rachel Tilley of Llandegfedd and Danielle Rowe of Cardiff Bay.
Iwan Roberts from Port Dinorwic sailing club in North Wales won the OnBoard Training Fleet.
Pennard’s Lowri Pearce enjoyed windsurfing over the whole weekend even though she was the only competitor.
Competitors came from all round Wales and enjoyed the weekend’s competition despite the mixed weather.
Run by the RYA, OnBoard is a grass roots programme which introduces sailing and windsurfing to young people aged 8 to 18, through schools, youth groups and training centres.
Over a ten year period OnBoard aims to introduce a minimum of 500,000 children to sailing and windsurfing in the UK, converting over 10% of them into regular participants. So far it’s nicely on track.
For more information about how to get involved in sailing visit the RYA’s website www.rya.org.uk or the OnBoard website www.ruob.co.uk.
Thanks to Acorn Adventure and Llangorse SC for hosting, All the Clubs for bringing Safety Boats and Plas Menai, National Watersports Centre for the loan of a Minibus. And a huge thanks to all the Volunteers for making the event a huge success.
Take a look at the Photo Gallery for pictures of the prize winners!