WEYMOUTH based youth sailor Alex Freer, pictured, has enjoyed the 2014 season and is looking forward to improving his race finish positions.

The 16-year-old sailor regularly competes in the Laser Radial class, one of the largest and most competitive classes.

Freer, who last year moved to Weymouth from Scotland, is now a member at Castle Cove Sailing Club, and has become a regular competitor in their race series.

His first taste of Portland Harbour was not a happy one as he managed to snap his mast and failed to complete the race. He claimed his subsequent experiences have been much better.

When asked, Freer said that his favourite event from the 2014 season was at one of the World and European Qualifier events for Laser Radials, held in Plymouth.

He said: “I really enjoyed it because it was back to big events with a large start line and excellent sailors also competing.

“It was even more enjoyable because there were strong winds which I relish.”

Freer comes from a family associated with sailing and was encouraged to take it up at a young age by his Dad, Chris.

Chris, who had a profession within the sailing world, also sailed in the Whit-bread, Fast-net and America’s Cup races and his granddad designed a boat for Oyster.

He started to sail Optimist dinghies in Portugal when he was just four years old and was thrilled by the excitement that sailing provides.

Over many years, Freer has tried different classes of boats, but his favourite is an RS600.

This year, his aims are to get into the Laser Radial transitional squad and achieve a good result at the Youth Nationals, which are being held at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA).

With his sailing pedigree and years of experience, he is likely to do well.

Freer also hopes to get a job at the Andrew Simpson Sailing Centre at WPNSA.