The Belgian siblings following in family footsteps at Youth Sailing World Championships

2024 Youth Sailing World Championships © World Sailing

There is sailing DNA in Belgium's Borghijs family. Nacra 15 sister and brother crew Hannelien, 17, and Sander, 15, do not have to look far for inspiration with regards to where they want to be in the near future.

Older brother and sister Kwinten and Lotte Borghijs currently sail in the Nacra 17 class which is where the younger sibling duo hope their next sailing chapter will take them.

Upon their return to the Youth Sailing World Championships off the back of a fifth-place finish in Brazil last year, the pair are confident their experience and partnership is a firm advantage on Lake Garda.

"We both started in Optimist first and then I wanted to do Nacra but there were not a lot of boys," Hannelien said.

"I first did Laser and then 29er, when Sander went and did Opti, we got together and started Nacra 15.

"It's never the same so you never stop learning, there's always something different and I love being on the sea or in the lake away from everything, it's the freedom of it.

"Brazil was very nice, there was a lot of waves, we like the waves because we sail in the North Sea so we only have waves.

"We want to take it to the Nacra 17, it is the logical next step, our brother and sister are in there so we will try and match that."

The teenage duo from Antwerp grew up near Galgenweel Lake and would take to the water on summer camps in their early years before teaming up for the mixed multihull less than 12 months ago.

Like most sibling relationships there are squabbles and disagreements in the boat and on dry land - but that may just be the youngsters' secret to success.

"The joke is, after a disagreement, we sail better - on Monday we had a fight after the second race and in the third race we sailed the best," Sander said.

"It's not always as nice, sometimes we get into arguments but when it works, it works really well.

"The big change is starting to say what you're going to do, in Optimist, you're there and when you think about it you do it but here you really have to communicate.

"You always have to make a call on big decisions and if you don't say it, it can be really bad.

"That's one of the advantages of our partnership, we both came from Opti which is really technical and hard boat so I do think we think the same but we do have different minds."

The Borghijs's biggest achievement to date in the early stages of their partnership is bagging European youth bronze together this year, against the same competition who have travelled to Italy.

Following two days of racing in Trentino, the Belgians have positioned themselves in third overall, thanks to consistent showing in a battle with joint leaders Côme Vic-Molinero and Fatima Tia of France and Italy's Lorenzo Sirena and Alice Dessy.

The pair remain primed to advance not only their hopes for the event but also their careers.

"I think we get it easier than others because we're brother and sister," Hannelien added.

"There is always wind here and good weather, we have been here before and did Worlds here in the Opti but that was a long time ago.

"I like it, the only thing is having to go to the right side which has taken some adjusting to."

You can follow the Youth Sailing World Championships via the livestream on World Sailing TV and via the dedicated event website.