HALLS Head sailor Georgia Payne will be one of the youngest skippers to participate in a national sailing event in New South Wales later this month.
Georgia (13) and her crewmate Daniel Brown will be competing in the Nacra15 national championships on Lake Macquarie from April 14 to 17.
The Frederick Irwin Anglican School Year 9 student will be representing the South of Perth Yacht Club and the Mandurah Offshore and Sailing Club as one of two WA boats.
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READ NOWThis event and the January 2018 nationals are qualifying competitions for the Youth Olympics in Argentina in October 2018.
Georgia and Daniel also recently won Line Honours and Handicap at the HMAS Perth Memorial Cat Regatta on 19 February 2017.
She said she was honoured and excited to representing WA at such a young age in a class of boat that is new to youth sailing.
“This will be the first of many interstate and international events for me and this one I will always remember I’m sure,” she said.
“I have loved every moment of my dedicated learning and training and, as long as I feel the overwhelming love for sailing, I will keep striving for Olympics and maybe one day I will skipper an America’s Cup boat,” she said.
She is training on water four days a week and three days in the gym with the Peel Regional Academy of Sport.
Georgia first started in 2012 when she started in an Optimist dinghy at the Mandurah Offshore Fishing and Sailing Club.
She won junior club champion and started sailing a flying and in 2015 and was the national champion by handicap in January 2016.
Georgia started sailing the Nacra15 in August 2016.