Merched Y Môr take on keelboat challenge

When a top female Spanish sailor who’d heard about our Merched Y Môr campaign got in touch, with an invite to compete at the prestigious Copa Del Rey MAPFRE regatta in Palma, it seemed too good an opportunity to miss.

Despite having never sailed together as a team or in keelboats, Chief Operating Officer Sarah McGovern - along with Pathway and Events Officer Hatty Morsley and Welsh coaches Flo Tovey, Catrin Williams and Merle Nieuwland - decided to take up the offer to race for the Baleària Women’s Cup, now in its sixth edition and attracting top-level teams and an increasingly international fleet.

The aim was to represent and raise awareness about Merched Y Môr and its mission to support female participation in the sport, while developing useful new keelboat skills and experience for Hwylio Cymru/Welsh Sailing coaches.

Everyone in the Merched Y Môr team was aged over 18 and self-funded to take part in this unique chance to compete at the Copa Del Rey MAPFRE regatta in Palma (1-8 August 2026), with a couple of training days followed by four days of racing for the Baleària Women’s Cup. The key aims were to:

• Support female coaches and sailors to develop their skillset, inspire them to try something new, and open doors to future keelboat sailing
• Show that a group of good sailors, with some team work and good comms, can achieve great things without a lot of training or time in the boat
• Explore how to replicate a similar format event in Wales for aspiring sailors at home, including inviting international teams to take part.

As Sarah explains: “Taking part in the Baleària Women’s Cup was a fantastic opportunity for our team to develop, compete and learn together. Success on the water was built around teamwork, clear communication and a shared commitment to learn from every race.

“This event provided a platform for us to show that with a good base level of sailing and a few days of training you can jump in a boat and be competitive. Through the event our team built confidence, resilience and the skills needed for any future keelboating. It also gave us an opportunity to learn from a really well organised event and to help put Merched Y Môr on the map as a brand.”

The overall winner of the regatta was the top Spanish female sailor who had invited the Merched Y Môr team, with skipper Maria Bover celebrating taking the top spot on the podium with Baleària Team RCN Palma.

Merched Y Môr  meanwhile, skippered by Hatty, finished an impressive fifth overall in the 15-strong international fleet despite the steep learning curve, against teams from countries where keelboat racing is more the norm.

Future opportunities

The team hopes that its performance in Palma will lead to another invitation next year, and is keen to consider ways to support keelboat racing opportunities in Wales. Anyone with ideas for developing keelboat events or pathways for young or aspiring keelboat racers is invited to get in touch.

In the meantime, for female sailors intrigued by the experience of the Merched Y Môr team, who would like to give keelboat racing a go for themselves, there is the RYA Marlow Ropes Women’s Match Racing Championship coming up soon.

With one-on-one racing, coaching support and a #rockupandrace format using the RYA’s fleet of Elliott 6M keelboats at Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy, taking part is easy. There is a warm welcome for both rookie and experienced teams and entry is now open.

The RYA also runs an annual Harken Youth Match Racing Championship and more information about getting involved, including UK events for building experience and training programmes run by various clubs and organisations, can be found at RYA Keelboat Racing.

Remember you can keep up to date with all the latest news and announcements by following RYA Cymru Wales on Facebook and Instagram.

See you on the water soon!

Sarah, Hatty, Hester & Paula
RYA Cymru Wales

Photographs © Nico Martinez (top)
& Laura G Guerra / Copa del Rey MAPFRE