RHYS Davies, 35, a Year 3 teacher at Kingsfield Primary School in Chatteris, has become the British Land Yachting champion.

Mr Davies took part in a competition at Hoy Lake in the Wirral on July 3 and 4 which was the culmination of a six race series to decide the championship. He beat 11 other hopefuls for the title of British Champion and will now go on to compete in the World Championships in Belgium in October where he hopes to finish in the top 10. The Chatteris man competes in the Standart Class which uses a French designed yacht.

Mr Davies has been racing land yachts for more than 20 years. “Land yachting is one of those sports that really grabs you and won’t let go”, he said. “There’s no other feeling quite like it when you’re sailing along with a fast wind, it is totally quiet and you need to use all your skills to keep going”.

Mr Davies is a member of the Anglia Club which has its headquarters in Royston where members practice on an airfield. Most of the championship rounds take place on sand where speeds of up to 60 miles per hour are achieved from a standing start.

He last competed in the world championships in 2006. He finished fourth in the European Championships in 2007 and is hoping to repeat that good form in the 2010 World Championships.

Mr Davies is sharing his success with his pupils at Kingsfield just in time for Shine week (July 12-16), a nationwide campaign to encourage young people to put themselves in the headlines for all the right reasons and have fun along the way.