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"She comes with me to all the regattas in Israel, so I am very used to it. I like having her watch me," he said.

"I told her I had missed her a lot and it was a pleasure to see her again."

After eight races at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, Rafic finds himself with an eight-point advantage at the head of the standings. While his mother admitted to having mixed feelings on whether she should travel to Singapore to support her son, she was proud of his efforts.

"I escort him to competitions at home, but this is the first time I have travelled to watch him," she said.

"He is allowing me to be here, because when you travel [to competitions] you are with the team, and you don't need your mum around."

Michal decided to make the trip to Singapore after talking to an Israeli friend who had been working in the host city and was proud of the athletes from Israel who were competing at the Games.

"My friend said to me 'if I am proud, you should be here too'," she said.

It's little surprise that Mayan is so comfortable out on the water. Mother Michal is no stranger to the waves herself, having been a qualified skipper for over 10 years, though these days, she just sails for fun.

She revealed that Mayan began his sailing career in small boats but didn't really enjoy it, and even considered stopping the sport completely before he discovered windsurfing four years ago.

To follow racing sign up to the race Twitter feed, access photos and results on the Sailing competition at the Youth Olympic Games website visit: www.sailing.org/yog