As racing on the water during the Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta came to a close on Saturday, the action was just starting in the thrilling and tightly contested America’s Cup Sailing e-Series Regatta qualifier where 14-year-old Liam Dimock from New Zealand won a convincing final race and secured a trip-of-a-lifetime to Barcelona for the Grand e-Series Final.
Liam was sensational, in a tightly fought battle which saw him qualify by just 4 points over his closest adversary, Lukas from Denmark who finshed on 101 points behind Liam steering ‘ESailingCentral’ with a total of 105 points after five races which was enough to see him qualify for the Grand Final in Barcelona on September 28th.
Crossing the finish line in the final race of the qualifier, after a thrilling race, Liam had extended to a lead in excess of 330 metres and crossed at some 32 knots to secure the series win and secure the prize of a lifetime as one of the qualifiers of the 2024 AC Sailing e-Series Grand Final.
Speaking to presenters Jesse Tuke and Justin Busuttil afterwards, Liam was overjoyed saying; “I’m stoked. I honestly didn’t think I was going to win, I thought Lukas had it in the bag.
Talking about how he approached the race, he added: “Let’s go, see what happens, not thinking about results, no hunting, no match-racing and I said let’s just sail how I normally sail, and I got it!”
“It means everything, being that 14-year-old kid that comes out of his bedroom, a little laptop, sailing is part of my life and I’ve been working to try and get out of New Zealand and see the real world. This is everything to me. This is crazy. I can’t believe it!”
Liam’s father, who was watching nervously but proudly over his son’s shoulder was over the moon but gave a glimpse into the dedication that Liam has shown to the game, saying: “As soon as the game came out, he was right into it….it means a heck of a lot to Liam and we’re super-excited for him. He put in an insane amount of hours, in the mornings, after school, but what an opportunity for him!”
Liam has been something of a social media star, running his own Discord channel promoting the AC Sailing e-Series as well as posting regularly on Instagram. His signature yellow helmet that he wears when racing and his aero sunglasses have become a cult phenomenon, earning him the nickname in the AC Sailing e-Series community of ‘Helmet Boy.”
Liam will now be on his way to Barcelona for the AC Sailing e-Series Grand Final where he will face fierce competition from the six winners of the qualifier series plus two wild card entries, all competing for a share of the prize pot of €50,000 with the eventual winner of this desperately close battle, taking home some €25,000.
