The event, which is held annually, saw 228 young Optimist sailors take to the water in the more experienced Main Fleet alongside 14-year-old Callum, with a further 82 sailors racing in the Regatta Fleet for those new to racing.

Goodison made a special visit on the Sunday, and took time to watch the action out on the water whilst offering the young sailors tips and advice for the future.

Paul, who is also a member of Team Volvo for Life and was recently nominated for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award said: "It is great to be invited by Volvo to attend these events and to see such a high standard of racing from these young sailors as well having a lot of fun."

The Dobson Cup is presented to the highest placed British sailor at the Volvo Musto Optimist British Open and National Championships, with no discards.

Previous winners of the Cup include triple Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie, who won the Optimist National Championships in 1992, and double Olympic silver medallist Nick Rogers, who won the Championship in 1991.

Callum, who sailed to victory at the National Championships earlier this year on his home waters in Scotland, has had an impressive season, having picked up a second place at the Inland Championships in May, before going on to claim a third place at the End of Season Championships last weekend.

Callum, who is now amongst the top ranked sailors in the squad ratings, said: "The weekend has been a really big success. The racing was so tight that everyone had a chance. It was so close; it was all down to the wire."

The youngster also picked up the 'Junior Sports Personality of the Year' award at Berwickshire Sports Council's annual awards ceremony.

Goodison made a special effort to talk to Callum about his achievements over the season and on meeting one of his sailing heroes, Callum said: "Having sailors like Paul present gave us all a real sense of what we can achieve. This is where it all starts; it's where our journey begins!"

The 2.3 metre Optimist boat has helped groom some of Britain's Olympic sailors and the end of season Championships can pave the way for future success.

Recent statistics have shown that at least 63% of the Olympic sailors sailed Optimists when they were younger and over 70% of these had already represented their countries at Under-16 level.

Ravi Gill, chairman of the International Optimist Class Association said: "This year's Volvo Musto Optimist end of season Championships has been a hugely successful event. The racing was some of the closest we have seen this season, with the 330 young competitors sailing to an extremely high standard in such mixed weather conditions."

The next event on the Optimist calendar is the Winter Championships, held at Datchet Water Sailing Club, on November 28/29.