Michael Wollmann believes that he and sister Cecilia have the makings of a great team.

The Wollmanns arrived home this week from the Aon Youth World Sailing Championships in Auckland, New Zealand, where they secured an impressive top-ten finish sailing together in competition for the first time.

The teenagers, who sail out of the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club, finished eighth in the Nacra 15 catamaran 20-boat fleet, which made its debut at the competition this year.

They topped the leaderboard after the opening day, posting a bullet in the second race, their best finish of the regatta.

“This was great sailing with my sister ... I believe with some more time on the water we could be a really good team,” Michael said. “I really liked the Nacra and all the speed. We had a few days with some good wind, which made for some fun sailing.

“It was a challenging event with its ups and downs throughout the whole championship. It’s been a great experience and I am glad I was able to have a chance to take part.

“We finished a respectable eighth place, which has plenty of room for me to build upon in the upcoming years.”

Cecilia, who represented Bermuda in the Laser Radial at this summer’s Olympic Games, said she thoroughly enjoyed competing with her brother and in the Nacra 15 for the first time.

“This was my first regatta sailing with my brother and sailing a Nacra, so I was very pleased in finishing in the top ten and closing out with a second place, which moved us back up to eighth place overall,” she said. “I enjoyed this regatta a lot and learnt a lot during it.”

They warmed up for the regatta by training in a Nacra 17 owned by the Bermuda Red Bull Youth America’s Cup team, of whom Cecilia is a member.

They also trained on a Nacra 15 during clinics in Weymouth, England, and Newport, Rhode Island, in the build-up to this year’s Youth Sailing World Championships.

Also competing in Auckland was Campbell Patton, who placed 30th in the 57-boat boys Laser Radial fleet to cap an impressive debut at the event.

Patton ended his campaign with a best finish of tenth in the ninth and final race.

Securing the bronze medal in the 29er skiff were Warwick Academy students and sisters Kate and Greta Stewart, competing for the host nation.

The Stewart siblings are the daughters of Ian Stewart, the Oracle Team USA base manager.