Young Jonathan's heading to National Powerboat Championship final 

Clinching title by a considerable margin...

Eleven-year-old Jonathan Wills from Paignton has beaten 13 other youngsters aged between 8 and 12 to win the south west regional heat of the Honda RYA Youth RIB Championship 2011 and will be competing in the final at the PSP Southampton Boat Show on Sunday 18 September.  

Fierce competition

At a fiercely fought event hosted by the Royal Torbay Yacht Club last Saturday (27 August), Jonathan posted a time of 1:58:66 – beating George Turgoose (12) of Lympstone and Cody Griggs (10) of Brixham by a considerable margin. This was his third year in the competition, and he is therefore “very excited and looking forward to the final.”  

The event saw a total of 25 youngsters in two different age groups battling gusty winds and showers as they raced the Rigid Inflatable Boats around a course laid to the seaward side of Haldon Pier in Torquay.

Senior age group

The winner of the 13-16 age group was James Lawton (16) of Swindon, who posted a time of 1:28:00, beating Morgan Peach (14) of Torquay into second place, and Jamie Dawson (14) of Lympstone into third.  

The Honda RYA Youth Rib Championship, sponsored by Honda and Ribcraft, is a National Championship in which 8-16 year old RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) drivers can demonstrate their boat handling skills in a race against the clock in the hope of winning a 5m Ribcraft or Honwave T40 for their club.  

David Hodgkinson, Marketing Communications Manager for event sponsor Honda said: "We are extremely proud that in 10th year of sponsoring the Honda RYA Youth RIB Championship, we continue to inspire and encourage more young people than ever before to pursue their passion for boating, and also give them the skills to do so. It allows us to underline our commitment to safety and best practice, something which we take extremely seriously as a major manufacturer of engines and inflatables."  

Thanks to Championship sponsors Honda and Ribcraft.  

Find out more

For more information about the Honda RYA Youth RIB Championship, details on how to get involved and a list of regional finals scores visit www.rya.org.uk/go/hondayouthrib