Hereford teenage sailor Martin Wrigley stars in the Dominican Republic (From Hereford Times)

Hereford teenage sailor Martin Wrigley stars in the Dominican Republic

11:00am Thursday 16th August 2012 in Sport

MARTIN Wrigley was the second Great Britain sailor to finish at the Optimist World Championships in the Dominican Republic.

The 15-year-old from Bobblestock was 30th overall in the toughest of sailing fleets.

It was the first time since 2003 that GB have had two sailors in the top-30 at the World event.

“Martin has made big improvements over the past year and he’s on top of his game at the moment,” said proud dad Nigel.

“Martin has also grown up a lot. We sent him on his own to an overseas event and he did it by himself and gained a lot from it.

“He didn’t see too much of the Dominican Republic because the team stayed in a secure compound.”

Martin had secured his place at the Boca Chica event after finishing third overall at the World and European team selection trials. The Hereford sailing star is in the RYA National Junior Squad and has had a busy summer, also taking part in competitions in Kiel, Singapore and Flanders.

He finished fourth at the Winter Championships in Cardiff and took fourth spot in the Spring Championships in Poole.

The Whitecross School pupil has been inspired by Ben Ainslie, who clinched his fourth gold medal to become the most decorated Olympic sailor in history.

Martin sails in the International Optimist class and is a member of Cardiff Bay Yacht Club.

Nigel paid tribute to Martin’s teachers at Whitecross School. “The support from the school has been phenomenal and all the teachers have been superb towards Martin’s sailing,” said Nigel.

“He missed an exam because he went to Singapore and the school says he can take it next year.”

Martin is supported by HD Sails and is a member of Halo’s Elite scheme.

He was the highly commended junior male in Herefordshire Sport’s annual sports awards in 2009.