Talented teenager Peter Cope, a member of the Manx youth sailing squad, is being sponsored by island insurance firm RL360.

Peter started sailing aged six with the Isle of Man Yacht club in Port St Mary.

Having discovered a love and a talent for the sport, he soon moved on to racing with RS Tera dinghies with the Manx Youth Sailing squad aged nine.

Since then the 13-year-old sailor from Castletown has gone from strength-to strength, racing in the UK RS Tera circuit for the past few years and achieving several top five finishes.

He also gained success competing in two RS Tera world championships. During a championship in Sweden his performance saw him win second place overall.

Peter thanked RL360 for its generosity and said he was looking forward to repaying the company with top-class performances in the forthcoming Aero circuit in both the UK and Europe.

Tim Cope, Peter’s father works for RL360 which is based on the Isle of Man Business Park, and said he was delighted with the support of his employers.

The sponsorship agreement with RL360 will see Peter retire his old RS Tera boat (which he has now outgrown), and enable him to advance to an RS Aero dinghy. The RS Aero is a high-performance vessel, and popular with championships around the world; making its capabilities the perfect match for Peter’s ambitions.

RL360 marketing director Simon Barwell said: ’We are really excited about sponsoring Peter and look forward to following him through his training and future competitions.

’The decision to sponsor Peter was a natural choice as he embodies many of our values here at RL360 - he’s talented, hardworking and most of all determined.’

The sponsorship will also see Peter provide regular reports about his training and future competitions.

RL36o, part of the International Finance Group, said they were very much looking forward to following Peter’s progress and wish him the best of luck.