Cyril Paynter has offered heartfelt thanks to Royal Gazette readers after their generosity helped him to compete in a Hawaiian ukulele competition.

The 58-year-old, from Mullet Bay, reached the finals of last month’s Annual International Ukulele Contest & Hula Show 2016 thanks to his original composition, Bermuda Song .

After successfully appealing for help to pay for his accommodation, Mr Paynter — who performs under the stage name Ishta Nupa — headed to the US island state to compete in the three-day event.

“I can’t say thank you enough,” he said. “It was a richly rewarding experience and Hawaii was beyond what I expected.”

After returning to Bermuda, Mr Paynter intends to get the island’s youngsters hooked on the small stringed instrument.

“My goal is to get some ukuleles into primary schools and introduce it to the children,” he said.

And although he did not win the overall competition, the ferry boat pilot believes “we were all winners on the day”.

“I met the best ukulele players in the world, from 9 to 91 years old,” he said.

“The talent was Empire State Building-high, it was off the hook.”