A TALENTED young Warrandyte sailor has taken on the world at the Spanish sailing championships.
Orlando Yen has sailed since he was four years old and is a very familiar face at the local sailing club on Sugarloaf Reservoir, where he helps out coaching newer sailors.
He regularly competes in regattas in Victoria and interstate and his passion and skill has earned him trophies in many of these events.
Orlando is now 13 and has spent thousands of hours sailing his O’pen Bic ski as fast as he can.
He is a member of the Victorian State Sailing team.
This August, he was invited to join the Australian Team to compete in the O’pen Bic World Championships in Spain.
Warrandyte Lions, Rotary and the Riverside Market quickly put up their hands to sponsor Orlando to see him compete.
Four boys and two girls from Victoria and Queensland landed on the beaches of Arenys de Mar to represent Australia against 171 sailors from 15 countries.
The weather was hot and sunny and the Mediterranean inviting — but the winds were light and frustrating.
Orlando scored a creditable 35th place overall in the trying conditions.
The Australian team all placed very well.
One of Orlando’s team mates was rst in the Under 13 division.
Orlando is extremely proud to have represented Australia as such a prestigious event.
It was a great experience to travel to Spain and he made good friends.
The coaches (parents of two of the team) organised his food and accommodation and even took him for a day of sightseeing in Barcelona.
Back in Australia now, he is back in training for the next World Championships, to be held in Auckland in 2019.
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