New Boat Award to help Bromsgrove lad David Sail for Gold

by RYA on 22 Nov 2014 An aspiring young Bromsgrove sailor declared he wants to follow in the footsteps of his hero Sir Ben Ainslie after being awarded his own boat - donated by the John Merricks Sailing Trust, the official charity partner of RYA OnBoard – as part of a national scheme helping talented youngsters progress in the sport.

David Peaty, who sails with the Worcestershire Schools Sailing and Canoeing Association (WSSCA), was chosen to win a new Topper dinghy from over 70 applicants after competing in the RYA West Zone Championships at Blithfield SC in September.

The 12-year-old Aston Fields Middle School pupil first learned to sail in 2012 after his grandparents gave him a sailing taster for his birthday. Bitten by the bug instantly, he attended week-long RYA OnBoard holiday courses twice a year through Aztec in Pershore and Upton Warren.

After one of his instructors identified his promise in September this year he started sailing with WSSCA, and within two weeks was determined to take part in his first event at Blithfield despite having to borrow a boat!

David has two years’ exclusive use of the dinghy. It will then be donated to WSSCA to benefit training programmes and enable other talented young sailors to progress into club, regional and national racing activities.

He said: 'I feel completely at home in a boat. The first time I got in a boat I felt exhilarated, I knew sailing was something I had to do. This feeling has not gone away and I still feel really excited every time I get to sail.

'I loved the regatta at Blithfield because I could be competitive and I came second in the races for new sailors. I came last in the first race. This got me down and I was determined and came back and didn't come last again. I learnt lots.

'I would like to get in the Olympic squad like Ben Ainslie as he is my role model. I would like to sail at the best level I can get to, training hard, going to many events and improving my sailing to get there.

'I want to look back over two years and say I made the most of having the boat. I am very thankful to the John Merricks Sailing Trust. The boat will give me many opportunities I wouldn’t have had. I can't wait to race the boat for the first time.'

Over five years, JMST will donate more than 50 one-person junior RYA racing pathway boats and windsurfing boards to youngsters through the RYA OnBoard partnership, providing young sailors who may not have ordinarily had the opportunity to progress their skills with the highest quality equipment.

OnBoard is the nationwide grassroots programme run by sailing’s national governing body to introduce sailing and windsurfing to young people aged eight to eighteen and giving them opportunities to sail regularly at low cost.

JMST, set up in the memory of 1996 Olympic silver medallist sailor John Merricks, helps young sailors and youth sailing organisations achieve their goals.

David’s mum Lisa continued: 'David often states his ambition is to sail at the Olympics. This boat will provide him with instruction and experience at a higher level and develop his self-esteem. It will make him even more enthusiastic and driven to participate, improve and excel at his sailing, a sport he clearly loves.'

Ian Walker, John’s former sailing partner, JMST Trustee, double Olympic silver medallist and skipper of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, added: 'John Merricks did not come from a sailing family and learnt to sail at school. Many people helped John on his way to achieving his Olympic silver medal. The Trust aims to support youth sailing at grassroots level, to encourage young sailors like David to follow in his footsteps.'

Bishop Skinner Marine will kindly insure all of the donated boats and boards for the two years the youngsters own them. Thanks also to Topper, Laser, Boardwise and IBI Sailing for helping to make the scheme possible.

Over ten years OnBoard has introduced over 500,000 children to sailing and windsurfing in the UK, converting over 10% of them into regular participants.