FOXDALE teenager Greg Kelly was crowned RS Tera World Champion in Italy last week, capping a triumphant team performance in which every sailor from the Manx Youth Sailing Squad finished in the top-10.
Top sailors aged 18 and under from eight nations contested the regatta on Lake Iseo, which took place in mixed conditions and featured many protests and disqualifications by race officials.
With four race wins and only three results outside the top three in the 34-boat Pro fleet, 14-year-old Greg won the 10 race series with a day to spare, finishing 19 points clear of nearest rival James Hutton-Penman from Team Great Britain.
The latter had led the overall standings for most of the week but Greg Kelly gradually overhauled him, edging into a narrow lead that quickly became an unbeatable margin after his rival was disqualified from race eight.
It’s an impressive double for the Kelly family as Greg’s older brother James won the same title at the 2010 championship in France. Greg is the third world champion to be trained through the Manx Youth Sailing Squad, formed in 2008 to give local youngsters a taste of big fleet racing in regattas around the UK and further afield.
Ffinlo Wright, 12, came agonisingly close to an overall podium finish after a solid series in which he claimed his first race win at a world championship. But a heartbreaking disqualification in the final race on Friday forced him to settle for fourth place overall.
2012 Isle of Man Youth Dinghy Champion Amie Shute finished a superb ninth overall and showed great maturity as she endured a run of bad luck, losing her appeal after being controversially disqualified in the final race of the series.
Demonstrating great potential in his first world championship, 11-year-old Ben Batchelor secured an outstanding seven top-10 finishes in the 40-boat Sport fleet to finish 10th overall.
The squad are trained at 7th Wave and are supported by Skandia, the Manx Lottery Trust and the Isle of Man Steam Packet.