A 12-year-old sailing enthusiast from Berrow is celebrating after qualifying to compete in the Topper World Championships.
Finley Kirkby’s first taste of sailing was a year ago with Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge Sea Cadets when he enjoyed it so much that he saved up money to buy his own Topper dinghy sailboat.
He then started racing at Cheddar Reservoir with Bristol Corinthian Yacht Club. The experience Finley has received from the Sea Cadets and the friendliness of the club gave him the confidence to join the next step up from club racing, South West Toppers.
Within six months of owning his own boat, and three months into joining The International Topper Class Association (ITCA) and winning a haul of trophies, Finley managed to secure a 3rd place in the overall leader board for the South West Toppers and a first place in the South West Autumn series.
The youngster is one of 25 sailors across the country to be chosen to join the ITCA (GBR) 4.2 squad this year and he’s also qualified to receive invitational top coaching to develop his sailing skills further.
Finley has begun his first series of National events NS1 – NS5, competing against some of the best Topper sailors in the country. The Topper National Championships will be held in August this year.
Finley says: “I’m really proud of myself for getting this far in a short amount of time and I have just received the news that I will be sailing at the Worlds in Mar Menor in Spain later in 2024.”
