WEYMOUTH’S Neil Hunter made his skipper’s debut in the Extreme Sailing Series Act Three in Cardiff.
The 21-year-old took the helm of the Land Rover Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) Academy catamaran which had been previously skippered by senior team member, Bleddyn Môn.
Hunter was the youngest skipper in the fleet as well as being the first Land Rover BAR Academy trialist to take the role.
Talking about his first regatta at the helm of a GC32, he said: “I think it was pretty pleasing for the guys, we got a few good results, a couple of seconds, mixing it up with the top teams, so I think it’s really positive moving forward for the team.
“Obviously there was quite a lot of pressure on me personally coming in to this having had limited experience in this class anyway.
“However I think it’s been a really good experience and I think I’ve risen to it quite well.”
The catamarans are exceptionally demanding with a high number of races taking place across four days.
Hunter felt challenged at the helm racing over the short courses.
He said: “These boats are absolutely brutal, especially when you put them on such small courses like in Cardiff.
“In previous events the courses have been slightly bigger, which means you’re not having to do manoeuvre after manoeuvre quite so quickly.
“It has been physically demanding for the crews, especially in a small venue like this, but we have been putting in the work in the gym and I think it’s paying off.”
Unfortunately, the team suffered structural damage to the boat putting them out of action on the second day.
In the races they took part in, the team scored two second place results. With regards to the overall results for the 2016 season, the team sit fifth.
The next event in the Series will be Act Four in Hamburg and Hunter will be using his experience in Cardiff to give a stronger performance.
He said: “I think a lot of things like our boat handling have been really good and we’ve made some strong gains in racing generally.
“We’re a new crew so gelling as a team has been really good and I think moving forwards.
“That is going to continue and hopefully we’ll be mixing it a bit more with the top teams in Hamburg in a few weeks.”