The Yachtsman 2017-2018 RPAYC Yachtsman 2016-2017 | Page 76

YOUTH SAILING CHAMPIONSHIP RPAYC’S NATASHA BRYANT AND ANNIE WILMOT WON GOLD A ustralia’s 29er girls wrapped up gold with a race to spare at the 2016 Aon Youth Sailing World Championship. Going into the final day Australia’s Natasha Bryant and Annie Wilmot were still focussed and business-like ashore, “We have had a pretty solid and consistent regatta,” said Wilmot. Whether intentional or not, the Aussie team didn’t want to get carried away just yet and had a plan of how they can avoid that Wilmot explained, “We didn’t actually know any points as we hadn’t looked at any scores, but we did pretty well and we are still really excited.” The 29er girls have secured gold by holding an unassailable 22 point advantage over the second placed Aleksandra Melzacka and Maja Micinska of Poland. Even still, it was all business for helm Bryant, “We still had one more day and one more race so we needed to just keep on pushing. Then we could celebrate after that.” The girls would like to thank Harken, Marlow Ropes and Objective Racing for all their support, and a huge thank you to their incredible coach Traks Gordon who hasn’t stopped believing in them and supporting them throughout this extraordinary journey. 74 YACHTSMAN