Two brothers from Tern Hill will be taking to the high seas next week in a bid for World Championship glory.
Ed and George Shelley are in the England squad competing at the RS Feva or two-crew dinghy World Championships in Brittany, France.
The brothers, aged 14 and 16 respectively, are members of Shropshire Sailing Club and will be joined in the big event by their friends and fellow club members Rob and Becca Morris from Holt, near Wrexham.
George said: “We never thought we’d be in the national squad and we’re really looking forward to the championships.
“We’ve both been sailing since the age of five. A lot of co-ordination and teamwork is involved. There will be around 140 boats from all over the world competing in France next week.”
Ed and George, both students at Ellesmere College, were selected for the national squad last October and are among the top 12 pairs in the country.
They have spent some nine weekends training for the championships at Abersoch in North Wales and left for France yesterday with their parents Rob and Rachel Shelley.
George, who has just finished his GCSE exams, said: “We’ve been getting as much time on the water as we can and I’ve had no free time at all recently.
“Sailing does take priority a lot of the time, but I made the decision to do all the squad stuff first and use any other time for studying.
“A lot of people think you don’t have to be fit to sail but it’s really physical and when it’s blowing a gale, the first quality you need is patience.”
Ed and George will compete in six races on Monday and Tuesday, with the top 70 boats placed in the “gold fleet” to battle for the world title over the rest of the week.
George added: “To finish in the top 10 would be great, but a top 20 finish is more realistic.
“We know the Italians and Irish are really good but out of the top 10 boats at last year’s European Championships, eight were from England, one from Ireland and one from Italy, so we’re greatly feared.”
To follow Ed and George’s progress in the championships, you can log on to www.rsfeva.org
By Winston Brown