Channel Islands
Jersey Clipper Bursary 2008
One of Jersey’s brightest young sailors awarded 2008 Jersey Clipper Bursary
Fresh from competing in the Jeux des Isles in Guadeloupe, young Island sailor Laurence Carter has become the winner of the 2008 Jersey Clipper Bursary, a £600 cash award that will help to meet the travel costs that are an essential part of the 12-year-old's intensive training.
The annual award, a legacy from the three Jersey campaigns in the Clipper Round-the-World Race, is designed to assist an islander to achieve a nautical ambition.
Laurence may be young in years and small in stature but he is big in ambition, hoping to one day get a place in the Optimist National Squad. This represents a huge challenge for the young Jersey sailor and, if he were to succeed, it would be a considerable achievement - virtually all the British Olympic sailing team have been members of this squad.
He recently completed six winter training camps with the Royal Yachting Association's South Zone Squad and was then selected to represent the squad at the Eric Twinamme Championships (an event for the best Zone Squad sailors) where he came 12th out of 60 boats.
Laurence came 15th in Guadeloupe - the best British result by some way - and achieved an 8th place in the final race. His aim now is to get into the Intermediate National Squad (one step below full National Squad) and to do this he requires a top-50 ranking in the three ranking events - the Inlands, the Nationals and the End of Seasons.
At the Inlands, held just before he went to Guadeloupe, he came 83rd out of 325 boats. If you take out the foreign sailors, and the 15-year-olds who will be too old for the class next year, he is within range of that top-50 ranking but still requires good results at the Nationals and End of Seasons.
Laurence will attend other UK regattas and training sessions in preparation for these events and that is where the Jersey Clipper Bursary will assist, helping him to meet his considerable travel costs.
"I cannot express how grateful I am for being given this bursary," said Laurence, who goes to Victoria College. "I will use the funds to subsidise my trips to the UK to attend the monthly training sessions".
The highly-competitive Optimist Class is where Laurence's main focus lies but he also sails Hobie Dragoons (small catamarans) and earlier this year came 16th in the World Championships held in very windy conditions in South Africa.
Philip Jeaune
