Under 16 sailing team member William Pank (M5P) has been in Bermuda over the last week, racing in the RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup event, where he secured 6th place. The event, which is an invitational only event, brings together the world’s leading Optimist sailors to compete against the leading youngsters from Bermuda in what is considered to be one of the most prestigious races in the Optimist racing calendar. Only one invite is extended to the highest ranked Optimist sailor in each country, with only the 16 top countries in the world being chosen to receive an invitation.
Having placed 19th at the Opti Worlds in Thailand earlier in the summer, William returned to the UK and won the Great Britain selection trials, Inland Optimist Championships and the Late Summer Championships. This made him the number 1 ranked Optimist sailor in Great Britain and led to his invitation to the RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup.
William started the regatta in fantastic fashion with a 3rd place in the opening race but after the first three days was in 11th . However, with two first placed finishes and a 9th on the final day William finished in 6th place overall out of the 38 competitors.
The full event results can be seen here.
