Sailor on crest of England wave

The highly commendable season-long accomplishments of 14-year-old Peter Harrison have been acknowledged with selection for the National 15 and under Topper squad.

This means that the Battle Abbey School pupil, who has sailed since primary school age, will link up with around 20 of the finest sailors of his age in the UK for several intensive training weekends at various locations nationwide over the next 12 months.

He said: "I am also very pleased to be able to say that I have been selected for the team GBR National Topper squad. This is a very exciting opportunity for me and puts me one step closer to my dream of being in the Olympic squad."

Father Richard, himself a Bexhill SC member, added: "He's very pleased but I think he would have been a bit gutted if he hadn't got in to be honest. He's done well and he's worked hard at it. His ultimate dream is the Olympics and he's got potential and that killer instinct you need."

Peter's achievement is a testament to the high standard of youth sailing at Bexhill Sailing Club and in particular to the enthusiasm of the Cadet section. Ben Slater and Freddie Connor have also done well this year and are expecting to be selected for the South East zone squad which Peter has been a member of for the last two years.

Peter, who is sponsored by Nikwax Ltd, was the winner of the South East Traveller Series regatta at Bexhill whilst he also came third in the Datchet Water staging. Other top 10 finishes in the series have come at Bewl Water (seventh), Lancing (ninth), Crawley (ninth) and Sunbury (sixth). He also finished 38th out of 227 competitors in the National Championships at Plymouth and 18th of 85 in the World Championships in Carnac, France. All of these events were of an Open nature, meaning competitors of any age were eligible.