AN AMBITIOUS sailor enhanced his growing reputation at a series of regional and national events recently.

Aidan Skinner, a Year 10 pupil at Rydal Penrhos School in Colwyn Bay, earned his place in the Honda RYA RIB National Championships line-up, which took place at the Southampton Boat Show and featured some of the best young talent anywhere in the country.

The 14-year-old qualified for the competition after successfully coming through the Welsh regional heat at Pwllheli Sailing Club during the summer, where he emerged victorious in the 13-16 age category after a thoroughly exciting and composed performance.

He continued this strong showing at the national event despite only having one practice session with Rydal Penrhos’ sailing coach Dan Rippon beforehand, and he eventually secured a ninth placed finish after knocking off an eye-catching 19 seconds off his best time in the Welsh heat.

Aidan has improved his powerboating skills this last season from doing three months of safety boat cover at sailing race sessions at his local club, Port Dinorwic, for the 'skill' category of his Bronze Duke of Edinburgh award.

He has also helped regularly at Prep School sailing sessions over the course of the previous campaign for the 'volunteering' category of DofE, as assistant instructor, which also involved a lot of RIB driving.

Allen Boyd, director of sport at Rydal Penrhos, said: “Aidan has achieved an incredible amount in the RIB in a very short space of time, which is a just reward for how hard he is working to get the very most of every opportunity afforded to him and every pupil under our care here at Rydal Penrhos.”