From North London to a World Stage

At just 19, Kai Hockley has already built an impressive reputation within the sailing world. He was introduced to the sport back in 2017 by his school in North London, and within two years, he made history as the youngest ever competitor in the iconic Fastnet Race.

Since then, his achievements have continued to grow: Cowes Week Young Skipper of the Year (2023), Youth Trophy Winner (2024), and the Youth Sport Trust’s Young Sportsperson of the Year, amongst others.

In 2023, Kai interned with Emirates GBR’s F50 Shore Team, an experience that led to an invitation from Sir Ben Ainslie to join the Athena Sports Group as a Development Sailor—working across SailGP, the America’s Cup, and the Athena Pathway Programme.

With SailGP returning to Portsmouth this July—and the RYA stepping in as the event’s official Community Impact Partner— we sat down with Kai to talk beginnings, personal reflections, and the importance of making sailing more accessible to the next generation.

Can you tell us about how your journey into sailing began and what initially drew you to the sport?

My journey began in Year 7. My school, The Greig City Academy in Hornsey, North London —had a sailing project. I’d never really done sailing before, so I thought, "Why not give it a go?" It was something new and yeah, it just started from there.

I really fell in love with sailing. I began training in reservoirs and then started going down to the South Coast—places like Cowes—on the weekends. It just grew from there.

When you first started, did you face any challenges? How did you deal with them?

Definitely! One big challenge was the travel. We didn’t live near the sea or any major sailing hubs like Portsmouth, Southampton, or Weymouth. So, there was a lot of travelling involved. We’d have to leave school at lunchtime on Fridays to get to the coast for evening sessions, then sail all weekend, and come back Sunday night—only to be back at school Monday morning.

Another challenge is that sailing can be an expensive sport. You’re always needing new sails or parts for your boat. That was a struggle, but lucky enough, the sailing community has always supported us. There have been people in the industry who’ve helped us get what we needed and that’s been a really cool thing.

So, you’ve done a lot in sailing already—have there been any standout highlights in your career so far?

Yeah, there’ve been a few. One I really enjoyed was in either Year 11 or Year 12. My friend and I sailed a 30-foot keelboat and we started the season in Cowes and did pretty well. We trained with some of the top guys, and then they invited us to Miami to train out there. The people really liked having us around, and eventually we got invited to compete in the World Championships in Miami, which was crazy for us.

Has sailing taught you anything that’s helped you outside of the sport?

Yeah, definitely—hard work creates results. You don’t see top Olympians like Dylan and Hannah get to where they are without putting in the work. That mindset can be used in any area of your life, no matter what you’re doing—whether it’s university, work, if you’re starting sailing or a different sport. The hard work you put in behind the scenes is what gets you the recognition and results in the end.

Was there a moment when you realised you could actually pursue a career in sailing?

I’ve always wanted to do it, like most people who get serious about a sport but the moment I knew “This could actually be a job”—was when I got the call to join the Emirates GBR team. I was in the sixth form common room. Mr. Holt, the head of sixth form, actually got the call first. He was even more excited than I was! He told me it meant more to him than getting his own call to say he got into Cambridge back in the day. He’s also the one who took us sailing.