Guernsey powerboaters clinch places in national final
Guernsey Yacht Club (GYC) saw two of its youngsters emerge victorious as it hosted the Channel Islands’ Honda RYA Youth RIB Regional Final on 21 May.
Local lad Matt Le Vasseur, 15, defeated six
other contestants to triumph in the 13-16 age group, and will now represent his
region at national level. The Guernsey sailor won the regional title for the second year in a
row and in the process set a fantastic time of 0.59.18 – a record time for this year.
Matt, who has been a GYC member for seven years, will now progress
to the national final. This will be held at Southampton Boat Show on Sunday
September 13 and feature all age group winners from each of the 14 regional
competitions as they battle it out to be crowned national champion.
Matt, who also reached the 8-12 national final in 2012, said
of reaching the national final: “I’m really excited about the final. I’d love
to bring a brand new RIB back to the Channel Islands. I’d also like to thanks
Graham Reynolds from GYC for helping me to get this far and hope to win for
him.”
In the 8-12 age group, Guernsey’s Joe Coutanche, 12, reached
his first ever national final at the third time of asking, heading a highly
competitive field featuring 13 other promising young powerboaters.
Joe, who has been a member at GYC for five years, said: “I
can’t wait to go to the boat show as I’ve never been before. Even though I’m a
bit nervous about the final, I’m going to try and do my best.”
Steve Morris, Head of Power Equipment for Honda (UK)
comments: “We are pleased to continue our long and successful partnership with
the RYA in supporting the Honda RYA Youth RIB Championship in its fourteenth
year.
“Honda and our boat partner Highfield are delighted to
support the RYA in its endeavours to motivate and encourage young people to
develop their skills and to promote safe and responsible racing through this
unique and exciting championship.”
The Honda RYA Youth RIB Championship, sponsored by Honda and
Highfield, is a National Championship in which 8 - 16 year old Rigid Inflatable
Boat (RIB) drivers can demonstrate their skills with the goal of winning a
Highfield 460 or a Honwave T40 for their club.
Now in its 14th year, the Honda RYA Youth RIB Championship
is Britain’s leading programme introducing kids to powerboats and training them
to be safe, proficient drivers and excellent boat handlers.
RIBs are light, manoeuvrable craft and the boats driven in
the Honda RYA Youth RIB Championship can hit speeds of up to 25mph
Thanks to Honda RYA Youth RIB Championship sponsors Honda and Highfield.