Dylan Menzies returned home brimming with confidence after punching above his weight during an impressive debut competing in the ILCA 4 class at the recent EurILCA Europa Cup in Malta.

The promising sailor finished a respectable seventeenth among the 38-strong fleet with a best showing of seventh in the six-race series in trying conditions in his first outing in the single-handed dinghy since progressing from the Optimist dinghy class.

“Malta's conditions were much tougher than I hoped for my first regatta,” Menzies told The Royal Gazette. “It was difficult to launch off the beach because of the big waves and disappointing that we only got two days of racing in.

“But it was a great experience and I feel I've learnt a lot and look forward to continuing to improve in this new boat.”

Croatia’s Vito Fili claimed overall honours on a tie-break over Hungary’s Sára Lackó who secured the women’s title at the event held from December 16 to 19.

Warwick Academy student Menzies was also making his debut at the EurILCA Europa Cup Malta, which forms part of a series of regattas run throughout the year across Europe open to all sailors ages 12 and older, and features all ILCA rigs, including the Olympic class ILCA 7.

Menzies, 15, represented Bermuda at various international regattas in the Optimist dinghy, including this year’s Optimist World Championships in Spain and North American Optimist Championships in Antigua, before transitioning to the ILCA 4 class in August.

The one-design ILCA 4 dinghy is extremely popular among youth sailors moving up from the Optimist dinghy with many 4.7 sailors graduating to the Laser Radial as they improve their sailing skills.

“It was great to leave the Optimist class behind and move into a bigger boat and compete against sailors from around the world,” Menzies added.