While some of the world’s top skippers were battling it out in Hamilton Harbour this week, some of the best young sailors on the planet were competing in the Great Sound for the 20th RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup.

The best of Bermuda got a glimpse of what it takes to be competitive at world level, with Argentinian Bauti Martin Luque crowned champion after beating Will Keilty, the Canadian national champion, and Giovanni Montesano, of Italy, to top spot on the podium.

Ines Mendez Larminaux, of Puerto Rico, finished as the top female, with Thomas McBain finishing highest of the Bermuda contingent.

Luque, 15, was excited to have mastered the Optimist fleet.

“I’m so proud to win,” he said. “I came here to win and I have trained so hard for this.

“I have loved being here in Bermuda and the people have been so nice to me. I’ve made a lot of new friends and I will remember this for ever.”

Kielty, 14, who won his national championship this year, was happy to be returning to the island.

“I came here two years ago for the Junior Gold Cup; this place is so beautiful,” he said. “It’s a beautiful island, fantastic sailing conditions and it’s great to be here again.

“Overall, I’m happy with my performance, but I could have pushed harder in the first couple of days and put myself in a better position for the final races. But I’m happy that with my age I have another year left in the boat, so maybe I’ll be back here next year.”

McBain, 14, was disappointed not to finish in the top ten overall, but happy to be the best of the Bermuda contingent.

“It was really enjoyable to compete against people from around the world; a great experience,” he said.

“I made a couple of big mistakes, which hurt me a lot. After the first couple of days, I wasn’t the best, as I took a few risks. Being the top Bermuda sailor wasn’t really my goal, as I wanted to finish in the top ten, but I am going to be back next year and I will hopefully get better.”

Nathan Bailey, sailing director at Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, feels that the Junior Gold Cup is crucial to the development of the fleet on island.

“It’s great to have some of the best international sailors in the world coming to Bermuda,” he said.

“It gives our young guys the opportunity to race against the best and see what they have to do to get to that level in the future without going overseas.

“For RenaissanceRe to help bring in these sailors and allow them to attain a new level in experience and take them to the next stage of development, we are really thankful for that.”