The NorthWest Final of the Honda RYA Youth RIB Championship took place at West Kirby SC on Saturday 14th July. The Final was for young powerboat drivers, in two age categories, from age 8 upwards.

The course was set on a breezy marine lake and it was good to see the young powerboaters handle the chop with ease in the Ribcraft RIBs. By the end of the day the sun was shining brightly as the competitors raced around the course.

In the 8-12 age group, Henry Hughes (age 9) from West Kirby certainly felt at home, blowing away the competition by posting a 1 minute 45 second time, a full 46 seconds faster than his closest rival. Second was James Mitchell (age 10) of Wirral Sailing Centre, and just two seconds behind James in third place was Emily Stevenson (age 11) of Glossop SC. A creditable performance from Emily who only started to drive RIBs five weeks ago.

Both Glossop and West Kirby had recently organised very popular club finals recently to help select their drivers to compete in the Regional Final, attracting over 40 kids, so their efforts were well rewarded with two podium finishes.

The 13-16 age group saw very close competition. Simon Morley (age 15) of Maryport Sea Cadet Corps posted a time of 1 minute 25 seconds to win the competition. Just three seconds behind in second place was Jonathon Geddes (age 16) of Hoylake Sea Cadets, while Christopher Hewitt of Glossop SC was very close in third.

Henry and Simon will now go on to represent the North West at the national finals, to be held in September at the Southampton Boat Show. There they will compete against the other regional winners for a star prize for their club of a 4.8metre Ribcraft RIB with Honda 50hp engine, complete with an Indespension trailer.

The event at West Kirby was one of 15 regional finals taking place between May and September across the country.

The Championship is sponsored by Honda, Ribcraft, ICOM and Indespension Trailers.

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