AFTER recent success at the national championships and months of intense training, local sailors Marty Hood and Jack O'Donnell are off to conquer the world.
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The pair will travel to one of the world's most famous sailing locations, Lake Garda in Italy, later this month for the world championships, which will feature about 100 boats.
Hood, 15, and O'Donnell, 13, who have sailed together for two years, qualified for the Australian team after finishing seventh overall at the international cadet national championships in Port Lincoln last summer.
Their final day results of a sixth and a second on home waters leapfrogged them from ninth place overall to seventh at the end of the regatta, and more importantly in to the last remaining position on the Australian team.
Hood, who skippers the boat, will look to take his consistency from the nationals in to the world championships, which is expected to feature windy conditions, much to his delight.
"The last four trainings in a row have been in more than 20 knots, which matches the conditions over there," he said.
"I love it when it's windy, but the nerves are definitely starting to kick in."
The pair will be the second Port Lincoln team to ever compete in the cadet worlds, following in the footsteps of local exports Ash Dyer and her crew Georgina Hughes, who sailed for Australia in Poland in 2010.
And to ensure they prepare the same way, Hood and O'Donnell have also been coached by one of Port Lincoln's most renowned sailors, and Ash's father, Andy Dyer.
"Andy is a great coach and a great role model," Hood said.
"He is so experienced and we are so lucky he's able to share his knowledge with us."
Hood said he was aiming to finish in the top 20 and that the likely windy conditions on Lake Garda would be similar to a strong seabreeze on Boston Bay.