Christian Ebbin has vowed to give it his “best shot” when he competes at the 69 Trofeo Cuitat de Palma Regatta Bufete Frau in Mallorca, Spain.

The 14-year-old Somersfield Academy student is representing Bermuda in the Optimist dinghy class that will compete in a ten-race series in the Bay of Palma de Mallorca from Friday until Sunday.

“I am excited to have been given this opportunity through the BODA to train and sail with some of the top sailors in Europe,” said Ebbin, who departed for Spain at the weekend. “There are a lot of competitors in the event, including the Spanish sailor [Jaime Ayarza] who came third at the Worlds.

“This is my last regatta of 2019, so I am hoping we get some good wind and to give it my best shot.”

Ebbin received an invitation to compete at the event through the Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association as reward for a top ten showing at the Optimist World Championship in Antigua in July.

“We are pleased that Bermuda is being recognised as somebody they want at an international event,” Dede Cooper, the BODA president, said. “We are at the level now where people are looking for us to compete against and that’s something to be very proud of.

“At the worlds we were the only country with two children in the top 11 and that’s pretty impressive for a tiny country.

“The BODA is really pleased that our programme is so successful that people are now coming to us to say can we have your kid at our event.”

Ebbin finished eighth and Sebastian Kempe eleventh in a record fleet of 259 sailors at the Optimist World Championship. It was the first time that Bermuda had two sailors place in the top 11 in the world.

Ebbin, of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, has enjoyed yet another stellar year. He won the Cork International Optimist Regatta in Ontario, finished second at the Volvo Gill Optimist British and Open Championship in England, ninth at the Optimist North American Championship Nassau, Bahamas and defended his PwC Bermuda Optimist National and Open Championships title.

The 69 Trofeo Cuitat De Palma Regatta Bufete Frau features 360 sailors from 11 countries and is being hosted by the Real Club Náutico de Palma.

The regatta will also feature racing in the 420, Laser Radial, Laser 4.7 and Europe classes.