It’s fair to say that it has been a very busy summer for Maylarch Sponsored sailor, Cameron Tweedle. After completion of his GCSE in June, the 16 years old sailor from Oxfordshire has managed to compete in four high profile events throughout the UK, France and Spain including the Finn Silver Cup Junior World Championship!

Let’s take a look at this challenging season and what Cameron has learnt from it.

From June 28th to July 5th, Cameron competed in the Finn Silver Cup in Valencia, alongside fellow Team GB; Hector Simpson and Jack Arnell and with the help of the “Tweedle family support crew"

The races were both technically and physically demanding and as one of the youngest participants on the start line, Cameron did really well and proved he could compete against some of the very best in the world and indeed some that will be at the Olympics next year. Overall, Cameron finished at an honourable 24th place.

But there was no time to rest, as Cameron was now heading for the UK National Championship at Hayling Island. This 3-day event saw a fleet of 62 boats racing on the notoriously lumpy waters of Hayling Bay. Unfortunately and despite a very good start, Cameron’s boat capsized mid event breaking his mast and he had to pull out of the regatta.

After an overnight ferry, Cameron and his crew settled in Quiberon (Brittany) for the French National Championship where Cameron enjoyed a highly competitive level of racing. He commented “I was delighted with my performance in the final fleet race, gaining a victory in a hard-fought battle that saw me lead from the start, drop back to 4^th mid-way through, then battle back to take back the lead on the final downwind leg and holding it to the finish.” And added “Building upon my 1^st international experience in Valencia, it was great to race in France, not to mention enjoying the social events laid on by the French Finn Assoc. It was also really good to start building my confidence with some great results leaving me 11^th overall and 4^th Under 23.”

After a week at home to recuperate and do minor fixes on the boat, Cameron then headed off to Rutland for the National Schools Sailing Association regatta week. This huge 5 days event had 282 boats registered and Cameron was honoured to be made Captain of the Oxfordshire Team. Despite another mechanical issue, (broken halyard) Cameron managed to get on with the battle to become the Fast Handicap Fleet champion and to be presented with the Ellis Trophy at the prize-giving, by the Lord Lieutenant of Rutland.

The last event of this epic summer of sailing was the participation at Cowes Week as a crew member in a 30 foot racing yacht for a former Olympic yachtsman. This was a very different kind of racing to the Finn category and an amazing opportunity to learn from the best and to experience the legendary Cowes hospitality.

As a sponsor we are very proud of the progress Cameron has made since last year and would like to congratulate him on his fantastic summer. We will leave the final words of this post to Cameron:

“This summer has been amazing. I’ve been so, so lucky to have been supported by my parents and Maylarch, allowing me to experience these events and develop my skills. I’ve begun to see the pressures and difficulties that face the professional sportsperson, going from event to event, with a life of just competition and training whilst being away from friends and family. It has been tough at times, both physically and emotionally but this snapshot has, if anything, made me even more determined to reach my potential as a racer and to do all I can to become an Olympic sailor.”