Zululand sailors excel

 

October 24, 2008

Zululand OBSERVER

	Zululand sailors excel A third place for Ruben Heard in the KZN Youth Champs* James Leigh scooped the Optimist title* David Leigh won the 2008 Northvaal Youth Laser Championships and 2008 Northvaal Finn Championships* THREE local sailors, Ruben Heard and David and James Leigh of the Zululand Yacht Club, have excelled in the sport of late. At the recent Northvaal Provincial Youth Championships, James Leigh (12) brought home the Optimist title, while Ruben (12) finished fifth overall. Both sailed extremely well, notching good consistent results in often difficult conditions. Next up was the KZN Youth Champs, held off Richards Bay during the first weekend of October. Ruben finished third overall, while James had an off weekend, finishing fifth. Ruben deserves special mention. He has been sailing for less than two years and has consistently beaten far more experienced sailors. Zululand has a true champ in the making. Both Ruben and James are well on track in qualifying for inclusion in the prestigious Optimist Selection Regatta, where the best sailors in the country are invited to compete for positions in the teams that will represent South Africa in international events next year. This event will be hosted by the Zululand Yacht Club just after the Easter weekend next year. This will be followed by the 2009 African Continental Optimist Championships in July. A new champ Meanwhile, David Leigh (17), sailing in the Laser Standard class, won the 2008 Northvaal Youth Laser Championships with clean bullets in every race. He then moved onto the senior men's Olympic sailing dinghy, the Finn, two weeks later and despite having only one day to acclimatise to the new boat, convincingly won the 2008 Northvaal Finn Championships and was placed second in the 2008 Finn National Championships, losing by just one point. This is no mean feat when considering that many of South Africa's top sailors were competing and in boats which they had sailed for many a season. The Finn class is traditionally dominated by big and burly men with years of experience. David has certainly caused a major stir in the class.