Sarah-Jane Deary achieved the best result for a South African girl at the Youth World Championships when she bagged 21st spot in the Laser Radial class.
The 18-year-old Capetonian had two top 20 results in Corpus Christi, Texas and emerged well inside the top half of the 46-strong field, which was dominated by eventual winner American Charlotte Rose.
‘The Corpus Christi Youth Worlds was a very good experience,’ said a thrilled Deary afterwards. ‘The standard among the top girls was high and I’ve gained so much knowledge. It was interesting meeting competitors from different countries and see how they train for sailing compared to us.
‘US Nationals was a great warm-up for Youth Worlds to adjust to the weather and get sleep patterns right after the jet lag before the main event,’ added the Wynberg Girls’ High School student, who went straight back into training on her return to South Africa.
‘I’m pleased there’s a high-performance team to join and carry on training with a schedule and that the training has not stopped straight after Youth Worlds.’
Meanwhile, also putting in a good showing in the USA was Deary’s teammate Cullen Keytel, who finished 32nd out of the field of 58 sailors in the boys’ Laser Radial class, which was won by New Zealander Josh Armit. Keytel’s best result of the Youth World Championships was a promising 16th spot in one of his races.
‘The whole event was completely different to the usual regattas held in South Africa – this chance taught me a lot,’ said Keytel. ‘Firstly that generally in the Laser fleet, the sailors lean more towards the heavier weight side due to it being a physical boat.
‘The sailing was the most drastic change simply due to the size in fleet numbers and the high level of competition across the fleet. The competition in the fleet was intense but fun, I enjoyed being pushed by everybody around me.
‘The best thing about the event for me was the fair sailing I was able to partake in on my course among my competitors. Everyone sailed fairly and they were never looking to cheat and this was the best thing about Youth Worlds for me.
‘I am also thankful to my coach [Rio Olympian Stefano Marcia] who mentored me through the regatta. I gained valuable technical knowledge from him on sailing a Laser. His knowledge in sailing Youth Worlds really helped prepare us,’ added the SACS student.
‘I was also very impressed by the event being conscious of us being environmentally friendly and endorsing the fact that we, as sailors, are the guardians of the ocean. There’s so much pollution in the world that it’s up to us to enforce and educate and take home the message.
‘I look forward to taking what I have learned and know what I have to do in order to sail better and harder next to prepare for the next Youth Worlds.’
Deary’s Youth Worlds result is SA sailing’s best result in recent years. In 1996, Robyn Sadler (nee Keen) won a bronze in the Laser Radial Youth Worlds in Rhode Island. Also to be celebrated was Calene Loubser’s fourth in the Buzios Youth Worlds in 2011, crewing on a Hobie 16 with Matt Whitehead. Loubser was also eighth the year before, again crewing with Whitehead, in Turkey.
Photo: Deary in Youth Worlds action