It took years of racing for sailor Lance Fraser to end up top of the male sports category in last month’s Outstanding Teen Awards.The annual awards programme is run by the youth charity Teen Services.Exceptional teens are presented with awards in nine different categories. This year’s 19 winners were picked from a total of 106 nominees put forward by schools and organisations.Mr Fraser, 18, is looking forward to getting a couple more international regattas under his belt this summer the Warwick Academy class of 2011 student has the last round of school exams to contend with in the meantime.A passion for the water runs in his family.“My parents are both sailors,” Mr Fraser explained. “I’ve been on boats since I was born, and I started sailing when I was eight.”Parents James and Marsha are “more relaxed” sailors, he said.The Southampton family enjoys taking their 36ft boat No Regrets for cruises around the Great Sound.“I like racing, and the great thing about being in Bermuda is it’s an ideal environment for it. Guys in Canada or the northern States can’t race for six months of the year.“Bermuda’s perfect, the summer especially. So I prefer to be doing something productive for my sailing career; when I go sailing I like racing and training. When you sail so much, it’s natural to want the boat to go faster and faster.”Mr Fraser recently put his skills to the test as the youngest skipper to ever compete in the King Edward VII Gold Cup and the World Match Race Tour.He started out on the Optimist dinghies in 2002, and in the following year came 14th in Miami’s Orange Bowl regatta his first international event.“This summer it’s the Chicago Match Race Open. That’s an open adult event,” Mr Fraser said.“Then in California there’s the Governor’s Cup, which is a junior under-22 event. I did that one a couple of years ago and didn’t do very well, so it’ll be great to try that one again.”Mr Fraser was skipper in that 2009 race. The team finished at number ten.“The Chicago Match Race Open is going to be a new one for me, and that’s exciting stuff. I want to get my world ranking up that’s the ultimate goal.”Mr Fraser is currently ranked 1,173rd in the world, which puts him in the 60th percentile.“Professional sailing is extremely hard to get into. There’s a lot of money involved. I’d love to keep on sailing and I probably could, but I’ve also got to do my schoolwork and take things from there.”Despite his love of the sport, he is contemplating a career in business finance.“You can still work and compete in events professionally,” he said. “There are all kinds of opportunities in the general field of sailing. There just aren’t many in the professionally paid sailing world. But for me, it’s just about doing something I enjoy.”His advice on where to find intense sailing in Bermuda?“Hamilton Harbour can test your reflexes. The harbour is known internationally as a place where the winds change very fast.”Useful web links: www.chicagomatchrace.com, www.bermudasail.bm.