A TALENTED young Chard sailor took a podium place in the eight-mile coastal challenge in the RNLI Passage Race off the Devon coast.

Ben McElroy, 13, had to sail from Plymouth to the River Yealm in the race which raised nearly £500 for the RNLI.

The annual fundraiser saw about 50 boats of all sizes race across Plymouth Sound and around the Devon coastline to a finish in the scenic river Yealm.

The Yealm Yacht Club provided the competitors with tea and cake before the competitors turned around and sailed another eight miles back to Mount Batten.

Sixteen miles of sea sailing across south Devon was a challenging experience for the two youngest sailors on a mixed start line of dinghies, multi-hulls and yachts.

Ben crewed with his fellow Topper Zone Squad sailor, Milly Jinks, in a Laser 2000, representing Plymouth Youth Sailing and finished in third place in the youth fleet.

It has been a busy time out on the water for the Holyrood Academy student as he was also selected to represent the South West in the national RYA Eric Twiname Championships – sailing his Topper dinghy into third place with the team at Rutland Water in Leicestershire.

He was selected for the South West team after a successful winter training campaign, supported by the RYA and Sport England and sponsored by Virtual Rigger.

This highlight of the RYA’s Junior racing calendar brought young competitors from across the UK together to pit their sailing skills against teams from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, competing for the coveted Eric Twiname Shield.

Ben competes at national level in competitions across the UK and will be travelling over 2,000 miles to sail at the world championships at Lake Garda in Italy.

He prepares for his sailing with the help of the team at the 1610 leisure centre in Chard. Many of the country’s Olympic sailing team started sailing in Toppers.