Tom Herbert-Evans, the SailGP Inspire youth programme manager, has hailed Rachael Betschart’s historic triumph in the Waszp Grand Final at the SailGP Inspire Champion of Champions last weekend.

Betschart, 18, beat some of the world’s top young sailors on the way to becoming the first Bermudian to achieve the feat, much to the delight of former mentor Herbert-Evans.

“Rachael has beaten top female athletes under the age of 21 from around the world,” Herbert-Evans told The Royal Gazette.

“It is such an impressive feat and she should be commended for that. Her consistency, particularly over the last day, was so impressive as she did not really drop out of the top three.

“The success is huge kudos to her and her determination. It just shows how much she wants it and she has worked incredibly hard and her attitude not to give up has really got her this result.

“I love seeing this young generation coming up now who have gone internationally, and this is just another one of those examples Rachael has shown that not only the boys, but also the girls, are thriving at the same time and it is great to watch.”

Making Betschart’s feat all the more remarkable is the fact she had not sailed in the foiling Waszp dinghy in several months and was in a frantic race against the clock to get herself up to par just weeks before the Grand Final in San Francisco.

“Rachael hasn't had any foiling time whatsoever so she's really been out of the loop in terms of practising her tacks and gybes, and when you sail one of these boats you need to foil and not fall off the hydrofoils when you're doing the manoeuvres during the turns,” Herbert-Evans said.

“She literally got back in April and did a week of training, and her expectations were not great because she realised a lot of peers and competitors had already been training for months.”

As part of her reward for her success, Betschart has earned the opportunity to sail on the rebranded F50 foiling catamaran, originally designed for the 35th America’s Cup held in Bermuda in 2017, and take part in a SailGP event with one of the teams next season.

Herbert-Evans first met the promising sailor during his time as a youth sailing coach at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and has kept tabs on her career ever since.

“When she started at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club in her Optimist dinghy she was tiny and really persevered with the sport,” he said.

“One of the most impressive things about Rachael is she actually sailed her Optimist around the island in about ten hours and to go through that shows how determined she is as a person. I can't even explain to you how hard that is; it's such a difficult feat and I don't think it has been appreciated by most people.

“Rachael graduated from the Optimist and more recently started sailing different classes and did several international events representing Bermuda around the world.

“It's been incredible to watch her journey and I am looking forward to where she goes next.

“I know she wants to be an engineer in SailGP and the America’s Cup one day, and really loves that combination of sailing, fitness and the application of engineering.”