Best Young Sailor Award at Forth Yacht Clubs Association
by Nigel Duncan 19 Dec 2005 21:12 NZDT
Callum Calder continues to head for the top in dinghy sailing with the help of his long-suffering mother. The 16-year-old was presented with the best young sailor award by the Forth Yacht Clubs Association at the weekend and there are not many corners of the United Kingdom that the teenager and his mother have not visited this year for training and competitions. Heather Calder's car has clocked-up a staggering 26,600 miles and they have been forced to spend numerous nights under canvas to eke out funds. But his shoestring budget has not stopped the Edinburgh teenager collecting a clutch of silverware in the highly-competitive Topper dinghy sailing circuit.
The Edinburgh-based teenager won three of the Scottish Travellers events outright giving him the overall series title and he also triumphed in the inaugural Scottish Inland Championship.
Callum also finished second at the Scottish Topper Championships, was 13th out of 256 entries in the National Championships, fifth in the Eurocup Series and sixth in the Nationwide Series.
The young sailor has also helmed his new boat, a Laser Radial, with credit. He won the B fleet in the Laser Nationals and earned seventh place in his first UKLA Qualifier out of 96 competitors, including the UK’s top Olympic women.
What's more, Callum was recently awarded the Drambuie Special Events Cup by Cramond Boat Club, the Inchgarvie Quaich by Port Edgar Yacht Club and the Hardy Trophy by the Forth Yacht Clubs Association for the second consecutive year.
He has been invited to attend the Great Britain Laser Radial Transitional Training camps this winter and has gained a place in the 2006 Scottish Laser Squad. And the teenager has also been asked to help coach up-and-coming Topper sailors in the East of Scotland squad to pass on some of his skills.
Furthermore, he has now been invited into the East of Scotland Institute of Sport inviting him to become an Area Institute athlete giving him and individually-tailored programme to develop his potential.
Heather said: "It's been a hectic year not just for me but for the car which went through a few oil changes, several tyres and a hell of a lot of diesel – but, touch wood, is still going strong.
"I now feel quite well qualified now to compile a comprehensive guide to the nation’s sailing/yacht Clubs and we've slept under canvas at Spey Valley, Kip and Tarbert. The car can now almost go on auto-pilot to Largs and Weymouth. We've seen the coastline at Abersoch and Pwlhelli in the north and Swansea in south Wales; Guernsey in the Channel Islands; Paignton, Stokes Bay and Hayling Island on the South coast; Felixstowe Ferry in the East together with a few inland ponds sunk in the middle at Rutland, Grafham, Carsington and Blessington in County Wicklow, Ireland. And then there were all the Scottish locations and we must face that again next year if he is to continue his progress."