Ever since a family holiday in Crete back in 1988, I’ve been an avid yottie. Not to the point of a crowd of my mates, who have gone on to compete in the Olympics and the like, but to a point where I’ve been involved with the sport in almost every aspect, from teaching it to kids to organising large events. It’s meant I’ve never had to work behind a bar or stack shelves – sailing jobs have occupied my summers.

The last time I taught in Ireland was back in 2001, and the two most enthusiastic kids on the course were also two of the youngest. Matty O’Dowd was a blonde photon, bouncing off the walls with energy that you can’t bottle. Once you got him into a boat, he was a picture of focus, and embarrassed kids several years his senior with skills and speed on the water. Similarly, Jenny Andreasson was so anxious to get out sailing at the age of eight that I thought she might implode on herself with excitement, becoming the first human to spontaneously create nuclear fusion. Both her brothers were on the course, but her desire to be on the water was a vast multiple of their combined enthusiasm.

In both cases, their parents were worried that they were too young to start sailing, but in both cases they had siblings on the premises and so it seemed pointless to hold them back, meaning they started younger than most.

So it’s great to hear that this year, Jenny and Matty make up half of the squad travelling to the ISAF Youth Worlds, where they’ll represent Ireland against the best youth sailors in the world. Matty’s also winning a Laser Europa Cup event in Denmark at the moment, ahead of last year’s Europa Cup series winner, Jon Emmett.

We’ll have a podcast with Matty up on Afloat.ie later on, hopefully. Fingers crossed he can hold Emmett off during the last day’s racing. Although it looks like he’ll be more worried about Danish sailor Pascal Timshell, who has a string of race wins to his credit.

UPDATE: He only bleedin’ won it:
Matty Wins