Sailing star Annabel Catermole will be laying down the gauntlet to Britain’s top sailors as she bids to land gold at the 2013 RYA Youth National Championships over the Easter break.

Around 350 of the country’s finest Youth dinghy racers and windsurfers will converge on the West Coast of Scotland for five days between Monday 1 and Friday 5 April to do battle at what is regarded as Britain’s premier annual Youth sail racing event.

Teenager Catermole, who is a member of Welwyn Garden City Sailing Club, finished the annual event seventh girl last year and will be hoping to improve on her performance and overall result from last year’s regatta in North Wales.

The 17-year-old Beaumont School student, who competes with Bryony Bennett-Lloyd from Norwich in the double-handed 420 dinghy, has started her season off strong with an eighth overall and first girl at the 420 Tiger Trophy in February.

More recently she finished fifth overall and first girl at the season’s opening qualifying event for the 420 class World Championships, proving she is in fine form with her sights firmly set on the win for this year’s event.

The event, this year being held at Largs Sailing Club, Scotland, has over the years helped to identify and develop some of Britain’s most talented sailors, such as multiple Olympic gold medallists Ben Ainslie, Iain Percy and Sarah Ayton.

As always the event doubles up as a selection event for the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships, which this year take places in Limmassol, Cyprus.