Sophia Dias has added a Fastnet Trophy title to her burgeoning sailing CV.

The promising local sailor was a member of the Royal Hospital School Blue team that won the inaugural 3 v 3 racing event in West Cork, Ireland, with an unblemished 22-0 record.

It was a dominant display that exceeded the expectations of Dias, who served as helmswoman on one of the Sussex-based school’s double-handed TR 3.6 dinghies, as she competed among a formidable international fleet.

“It was an amazing experience that my team-mates and myself were really not expecting,” Dias told The Royal Gazette. “We were just going into the regatta not thinking this would happen because there were some really good teams out there.

“There were some people from Ireland, some from the US, and the US always bring good competition, so we were really happy with the end result.”

The 17-year- old and her fellow team-mates also had their work cut out coping with trying weather conditions, particularly on the opening day of the championships in strong winds.

“The conditions were really challenging and retty windy and for team racing it’s very difficult because it’s hard to get to your opponent,” she said.

“We completed 15 races so it was definitely a long day with almost ten hours of sailing.”

The racing fleet was forced to stay ashore on the second day of the regatta as the wind intensified and forced the race committee to call off racing.

“They had to cancel because it was blowing 30 knots of wind so we just rested,” Dias said.

Racing resumed on the third and final day of the regatta after the blustery conditions subsided, with Dias and her team-mates picking up where they had left and winning their remaining races to become the first to triumphantly raise the trophy.

“We completed a total of seven races and the wind was a lot more manageable, so it was actually a lot more competitive because all of the teams were really fighting for the trophy, especially the Irish teams,” Dias said. “Everyone sailed amazing and it was a really great experience.”

The event was organised by Schull Community College Sailing Club in conjunction with Irish Sailing and hosted by the Fastnet Marine Outdoor Education Centre.

Locals teams Schull Sharks and Schull Seals secured second and third on the Fastnet Trophy podium and won the Schools National Team Racing Championships, which were incorporated into the event under the auspices of the Irish Team Racing Association.

Dias was one of two local sailors representing her school at the event as Trystan Hocking competed as a helmsman for regatta debutants Royal Hospital School Navy team, who finished fifth among the 16 teams represented from England, Ireland and the United States.

“It was also really good to have Trystan competing in the same regatta, and I feel like we always had the support of each other,” Dias said.

“Tristan sailed really well with the team that he had. He was originally going to be sailing on my team but he had to fill in for a person on the second team. The second team are year 11 sailors and he’s in year 12, so he had to go down.

“Those sailors haven’t really had a lot of experience so I think he did really well helping the team out and was very patient as well.”

Dias was making her first and last appearance in the Fastnet Trophy as she will be graduating from Royal Hospital School in June and has accepted an offer to attend Tulane University in New Orleans, where she will join forces with another fellow local sailor in Christian Ebbin.

“I have been sailing with Christian for a very long time. Another amazing opportunity and I am super excited,” she said.

“It’s one of the most prestigious schools in the US. They have like amazing sailing teams out there and all of their sports are really doing amazing as well.”