THE last few years have been extremely successful for former Bunbury sailor Ryan Duffield and his partner Brett Burvill who put forth a strong performance at the 2014-15 Tornado World Championships in Nedlands earlier this month.
Despite only finalising preparation on their boat at 4.30am on the day of the rave, the pair made sailed a consistent regatta to claim second place.
After spending time sailing abroad, Duffield said the podium finish in his home state was one to be proud of.
“It’s really good to come home and perform well,” he said.
“It’s a rare occasion that my parents actually get to see me race so it’s really nice to do well in front of them.”
Although a strong performance, Duffield said he and Burvill were a little disappointed to come second after taking out wins in the past five championships.
“After you win five in a row it’s not easy to go back to being second,” Duffield said.
“It’s not ideal, but I’m really proud of the way we performed.”
Duffield began sailing at the age of 12 in Carnarvon before moving to Bunbury as a 15-year-old where he sailed with the Koombana Bay Sailing Club on Saturday’s and the Nedlands Yacht Club on Sunday’s.
He and Burvill continued sailing locally in WA and Australia before taking their talents abroad with a trip to Europe in 2010.
“Europe was a real eye opener,” Duffield said.
“The sport (sailing) is fairly big in Australia, but it’s something else over there.”
The pair raced in Western Europe competing in Italy, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK.
A first place finish in the Tornado pre-worlds championship regatta in Germany and second in the German formula 18 nationals were just some of the accolades the duo earned.
“Competing in Europe and competing well was extremely rewarding,” Duffield said.
“The exposure to a higher level was really thrilling and it was good to see how things go over there.”
The pair is currently competing at an event in Queensland where they are continuing to aim for a top place finish.
