Meet the boys from Greig City Academy, youngest team at 2023 AON Worlds
When Jon Holt initially started a sailing program at the Greig City Academy in 2014, he never imagined he would be bringing a group of teenagers to the AON Etchells World Championships less than a decade later.
It all started when Greig City Academy headmaster named Holt, a geography teacher, head of outdoor education at the inner-city state school located in the London borough of Haringey. Holt took the position quite seriously because he believed that “all kids deserve the same opportunities in life” and that “outdoor activities are 100 percent the way to bring out the best in them.”
Fulfilling that mission has come at great personal cost, sacrifices and risks for Holt, who initially bought a minibus, trailer and 20 mountain bikes — putting it all on his personal credit card.
Most of the students at Greig City Academy come from Haringey, which has one of the worst child poverty rates in the United Kingdom and is among the most deprived boroughs in London. Holt considered it his mission and duty to expose the youngsters at Greig City Academy to recreational activities they otherwise would never have considered or been able to experience.
Sailing became part of the school’s outdoor activities program when Holt began organizing weekend trips to a sailing school in Poole Harbour. Every one of those trips was filled to capacity and the youngsters loved sailing and being out on the water.
One thing led to another and Holt began amassing a fleet of sailboats for Greig City Academy, starting with a 22-foot Mini Turner that needed to be fully restored. Next, he purchased a Frers 45 named Scaramouche that way back in 1981 had been used by the United States Admiral’s Cup team.
It cost 16 thousand pounds to purchase the vintage raceboat and another 16,000 pounds to make it seaworthy. In 2016, talented young sailors from Greig City Academy raced Scaramouche in the renowned Round the Island Race that circumnavigates the Isle of Wight. One year later, Greig City became the first high school team to complete the Rolex Fastnet Race.
Along the way, the Greig City Academy sailing program developed many admirers and supporters who were impressed by what the youth sailors from an impoverished community were accomplishing.
One of them was David Franks, captain of the Etchells fleet in Cowes. Palfrey, an ardent supporter of youth sailing, loaned an Etchells to Greig City Academy to give the students a taste of sailing one of the world’s premier high-performance keelboats.
That opportunity is what ultimately has led Kai Hockley, Jaydon Owusu and Christopher-Joel Frederick to represent Greig City Academy at the AON 2023 Etchells Worlds. Jessye Opuku-Ware is here as an alternate in anticipation for next year when he joins the crew.
This is already the second Etchells Worlds for this team, which competed last year when the regatta was held in Cowes and hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron. The teenagers earned the respect of their fellow competitors by their performance on the water and decorum off it. So much so that 2022 World Champion skipper Ante Razmilovic made a point to congratulate the boys.
“When we sailed at the Worlds in Cowes one of the things people noticed was that their discipline on the race course is very good,” Holt said. “One of the best moments of last season was when Ante came up to the guys at the Royal Yacht Squadron to commend them on how well they handled themselves out on the race course.”
Franks has continued to support Greig City Academy’s foray into Etchells class competition by providing a boat for practice and regattas. David Bedford, who is crewing aboard the British entry Arena (USA 1455), played a pivotal role in enabling the team to Miami for the Biscayne Bay Winter Series and the 2023 Worlds.
Bedford lined up the Greig City Academy crew to sail More Cowbell (USA 1220) throughout the season. With Hockley steering and Owusu calling tactics, More Cowbell posed an impressive mid-fleet finish at the Sidney Doren Memorial Regatta.
Sid Doren Regatta by Rachel DeLoach
Now the Greig City Academy crew is looking to improve upon its second-to-last-place result at the 2022 Worlds. Hockley, 17, has set a goal of finishing mid-fleet and “being fairly high up among the Corinthian class.”
“We learned a lot from the last Worlds about tweaking the boat and how much of a difference that makes,” said Frederick, an 18-year-old who trims the jib. “We’ve brought all that information into this Worlds and I just see us climbing up the fleet. We’re always trying something different with the rig, trying something different with the sail set.”
Beginning with every regatta of the Winter Series and continuing this week, other competitors have gone out of their way to support the Greig City crew. Some of the best sailors in the world are offering advice on rig tune, sail shape, tactics, and other technical issues.
“All the people in the class are really welcoming. If you have any problems or questions, they are more than happy to help,” Owusu said. “The Etchells is a very complicated boat and there is so much you have to do to go as fast as possible. We try to gain as much knowledge as possible from the more experienced teams.”
Boat-handling is at a premium in a 63-boat fleet as the start line is incredibly crowded and things can get dicey when dozens of boats converge at a mark rounding. As helmsman, Hockley is ultimately responsible for making sure More Cowbell sails clean and does not cause an incident.
“We sailed Etchells for a whole season back in Cowes so we are comfortable in the boat and are confident with how to sail it,” he said. “There is pressure to do well in the race, but we don’t feel any pressure as far as starts, mark roundings or maneuvers.”
Holt admits he gets nervous while watching the racing from the coach boat. He sees how the boats sail in extremely close quarters and cross each other at high speed while doing pre-start maneuvers.
“I get nervous at the start because the chance of a collision is quite high. I’m very impressed with the way these guys handle all those situations,” Holt said. “Bringing a group of teeangers from London to compete at an event like this is very ambitious. Going from racing Lasers against other high schoolers to racing one of the world’s most challenging keelboats in such a competitive environment is an incredible step up for them.”
Because of the experience he gained on the grand prix sailing circuit, Frederick has already lined up a position as crew member aboard a superyacht based in Holland. Owusu, who is also 18, is planning to do the same with his specialty being engineering.
“At first, I chose sailing as a way to get away from school for a while and do something new, but it quickly progressed to something that became a hobby and a passion,” Owusu said. “I realized this could open so many doors as far as jobs in the marine industry.”
For Holt, that is what this is ultimately about — preparing high school students to take the next step in life. Results at the Etchells World Championships are not important compared to the big picture.
“When you see youngsters grabbing an opportunity with both hands over such a long period of time and using it to genuinely improve themselves and benefit their lives you can’t be anything other than proud,” he said. “They are doing this to compete and they want to do well, but they’re also doing it for their future and to get careers.”
Frederick and Owusu must be effectively replaced on the crew if Hockley and Opoku-Ware are to realize their goal of competing at the 2024 Etchells World Championships in Australia. Opoku-Ware has been paying close attention to everything that happens this week so he is ready to excel when his turn comes.
“Being the reserve is not the best spot. I’m just trying to soak up as much knowledge as I can so I can apply that to when I’m on the boat regularly. I want to be prepared to help the younger guys out,” he said.
