TWO sailors are set to take a step up thanks to the generosity of the John Merricks Sailing Trust.

Freya Terry, helm, and Tiegan Pearce, crew, set off on a trip to England from Tresaith Mariners Sailing Club - and came back with a new boat.

It was a good quality second-hand International 420 dinghy from the JMST, which they collected from Datchet Sailing Club when they went there for 420 Class training.

They are already planning their class training and racing schedule for this year, thanks to the new freedom of having their own boat to work in.

Ian Walker, trustee of the John Merricks Sailing Trust, wrote: “John Merricks was a fantastic young sailor, but it was his enthusiasm for the sport that shone through.

“He worked very hard to achieve his goals but always loved the sport too. It certainly sounds like the girls show many similar qualities. I hope the 420 works out well for them and I will personally enjoy following their progress.”

Thanks to the support at Pembrokeshire Performance Sailing Academy and Richard Owens, Fishguard Bay and Tresaith Mariners, the pair have been able to develop this far in a club 420 for training and events.

“We were very excited waiting to pick up our 420 at the class training and after quite a lot of setting up we finally launched,” said Freya and Tiegan.

“It was very windy and we took a while to get to grips with the new boat. We had some help to adjust all of the rigging which helped.”

See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition now