Five young sailors from Durban’s Point Yacht Club will round off a strong competitive season when they compete at the Youth Nationals in Hermanus from December 14 to 19. The annual championship, hosted by the Hermanus Yacht Club, begins with a Mixing of Waters ceremony before five days of racing. Up to 12 races are scheduled across two racecourses, with eight classes represented.
The local contingent will compete in three of them. The squad are led by John-Alan Harding (16) of uMhlanga, who will race in the ILCA 4.7 class alongside Durban’s Shalin Naidoo. Salt Rock’s Gust Funke will compete in the Dabchick class, while his younger brother, Kai, and Hillcrest’s Ethan Kruger will line up in the Optimist fleet.
Despite their age, the group have already gained valuable national and international experience. Earlier this year John-Alan, Shalin, Kai and Ethan raced at both the African Mirror Championships and the Marriott Mirror Worlds, while Gust recently returned from the Flying Fifteen Nationals. John-Alan, a Grade 11 pupil at Reddam House uMhlanga, will be competing in his second Youth Nationals.
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“I am really looking forward to this regatta,” he said. “What I like most about the laser is the freedom of movement. It makes tacking easy, fast and fun.” He placed first in his class at the ILCA Regionals offshore of Durban in July.
Shalin, a Durban High School pupil, is entering his fifth Youth Nationals and his second year in the ILCA class. He recently finished third overall — and first for KZN — at the J22 Interclub Schools regatta. The Funke brothers are also building an impressive sailing résumé.
Gust (12) will make his third Youth Nationals appearance but his first in a Dabchick. Kai (10) returns to the Optimist fleet for the second time. Ethan (13) is the newest member of the group and has had a breakthrough year, competing in the Mirror Worlds with his father and spending months fine-tuning his Optimist ahead of Nationals. He has also crewed on the keelboat Bellissima and will start at Kearsney College next year.
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