PJ Rodrigues and Christian Ebbin are pleased with their debut performances at the recent Youth Sailing World Championships in Brazil

The local sailors finished a respectable 20th among an experienced and formidable 30-strong male/mixed 29er skiff fleet.

“We are both very pleased with our standings in this regatta, especially comparing how long we have on the water compared all the other teams,” helmsman Rodrigues told The Royal Gazette.

“We trained very hard leading up to this regatta putting 100 per cent into every practice that we’ve had from training with other boats to being on the water in home waters training by our selves.”

Crew Ebbin added: “Despite finishing 20th, the journey was a testament to growth, learning and the sheer thrill of international competition.”

The Bermudian pair produced three top ten finishes, with a best showing of sixth, in the 12 -race series.

Rodrigues and Ebbin were accompanied by coach Joshua Greenslade, who praised their overall performance up against tough competition.

“Overall it was a great event for the boys,” said Greenslade, who represented Bermuda in the 29er skiff at the 2008 Youth Sailing World Championships in Denmark. “They had some tough races but I never saw them give up in any race with multiple times overtaking multiple boats on the final leg to the finish, which was great to see.

“Going up against the best from each country and placing where they did after a year of sailing together is impressive. Looking forward to seeing what they can do going forward.”

Rodrigues and Ebbin qualified for the Youth Sailing World Championships at the Typhoon UK 29er Class National and Open Championships in Weymouth, England, this summer.

French duo Karl Devaux and Hugo Revil claimed the gold medal in the 29er male/mixed skiff class at last week’s Youth Sailing World Championships in Brazil, Italy’s Alex Demurtas and Giovanni Santi silver and Ireland’s Ben O’Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain bronze.