Owen Siese Competes At ISAF Youth Worlds
16-year-old Owen Siese is one of 255 sailors, aged 14 – 19 years old from 63 nations who have descended on Dublin Bay, Ireland for the 2012 Four Star Pizza ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship. The event will run from July 14th – 21st and is known as the annual highlight of the youth sailing calendar.
Siese is the sole Bermuda entry again this year, having qualified at Miami’s Orange Bowl regatta last December. The Sandy’s Boat Club member is one of 59 sailors competing in the Boys Single-handed Dinghy Class which is being sailed in the Laser Radial.
Siese will be sailing against many old friends and rivals from his Optimist sailing days including Just VanAanholt from Netherlands Antilles, Juanky Perdomo from Puerto Rico, Andrew McKenzie from New Zealand and Mathias Robertson from Chile.
Some of the world’s top sailors are ex-Youth Worlds winners. America’s Cup legend Russell Coutts won the Laser class in 1981; while Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker won in 1990.
Brazilian multiple Olympic medalist Robert Scheidt won in 1991, while his British nemesis Ben Ainslie achieved the same four years later. The list of future champions spawned from the Youth Worlds can be found across all the pinnacle events in competitive sailing.
Racing begins tomorrow [July 14] for all eight classes, with the start at 1200 local time with two races scheduled. More information available here.
