DORCHESTER sailor Jack Cookson has won the coveted UK Laser Radial Youth Championships in a closely-fought final in Plymouth.

At 17, Cookson is among the youngest competitors in a class where the age limit is 19.

Despite giving an advantage to his rivals in terms of experience and size, Cookson demonstrated his natural talent to beat sailors from around the country in a series of testing weekend qualifiers that started in April.

Most of the qualifiers involved 70-plus boats sailing at least four races over two days.

Cookson started sailing Optimists in Portugal at the age of eight and his skill was recognised and nurtured by his club in Lagos.

There he was entered into local, national and international events before progressing to the Laser 4.7 class at the age of 15.

After moving back to Dorchester with his family, Cookson, an unknown in the UK, achieved a surprise Laser Radial victory in his first race series in Stokes Bay, Portsmouth, which led to an invitation to join the British Youth Sailing Team.

The teenager is surprisingly modest and remains philosophical about his achievements but knows that the success he has achieved so far will take hard work to sustain.

Like many young sailors, his ultimate goal is to represent his country at the Olympic Games, but his ambition now requires a daunting programme of training and travel, competing in races all over the UK and Europe.

To achieve this, Cookson has deferred his university placement and is looking for the sponsorship necessary to compete at the top level.

On the strength of his results so far he is a good bet.