Royal Lymington Yacht Club's Santiago Sesto-Cosby to represent Britain at Youth Sailing World Championships
ROYAL Lymington Yacht Club’s Santiago Sesto-Cosby is one of 16 of the country’s most promising young sailors selected to represent Great Britain at the Youth Sailing World Championships.
All aged 18 or under, the talented squad will represent the British Youth Sailing (BYS) Team in eight classes at the 51st edition of the prestigious youth event at The Hague, Netherlands, in July.
Making his first appearance at the youth worlds, Sesto-Cosby is looking to draw on venue knowledge and home similarities as the secret to success in the 29er alongside returning crew, Maidenhead SC’s Leo Wilkinson.
The Priestlands student, who qualified after recently becoming the RYA national champion, said: “Qualifying for the youth world championships is an all-time dream for me. Now is the time to build towards being the best we can to represent Great Britain.
“I have sailed in the venue when I qualified for my first Optimist European Championship in 2018, and I loved it. I did well there because it’s a tidal venue, very similar to Lymington. It can be very wavy, too.
“I’m really looking forward to going back there. It will be fun in the 29er!”
The talented youngster has made the Youth Sailing World Championships at the first time of asking after stepping up from the Optimist class after turning 15.
Sesto-Cosby enjoyed tremendous success in the one-person boats, becoming the number one ranked Optimist sailor in Britain and the national champion before becoming the first British boy to finish on the podium at the Optimist European Championships in 20 years.
Previous Youth Sailing World Championships participants linked with Lymington include the world’s most decorated Olympic sailor Sir Ben Ainslie and 2008 Beijing gold medallist Pippa Wilson.
The squad will be coached and supported by the returning team of Olympian Kate Macgregor, current British Sailing Team iQFOiL women’s coach Sam Ross and BYS squad coach James Hadden.
