Welsh Regional Junior Championships 2025
Sunshine and breeze made for an action packed weekend of racing at the Welsh Regional Junior Championships in Pembrokeshire.
The event was hosted with Dale Yacht Club, Celtic Sea Watersports and Windswept Watersports (21-22 June 2025) and attracted a total of 74 entries, including 18 sailors keen to develop their racing skills in the coached regatta fleet.
A fantastic 34 volunteers also supported the event on the water and ashore.
Competitors were greeted on the Saturday with breakfast baps by Rosemary and her team, and following a delay due to fog and a lack of wind, both the regatta and main fleets were able to launch at lunchtime and sailed until 5pm.
A glorious afternoon of sunshine with 8 knots of breeze allowed three 30-minute trapezoid/windward leeward races for the main fleet, and five for the regatta fleet on a triangle-sausage course.
The trial of a 3-2-1-Go starting format sped up the racing and proved popular with the sailors. Also welcomed was the return of Welsh Sailing’s CROESO wellness boat offering moral support and supplies of food, water, sun cream and first aid.
Wishy washy
Ashore after the racing, parents and sailors enjoyed a sociable time at the club in the evening sunshine, alongside a number of Welsh Sailing initiatives.
A Wishy Washy station saw almost all of the sailors bringing their kit and taking the opportunity to “Dip It, Wash It, Rinse It, Spin It’.
A big thank you to Rinsd | The Sustainable Wetsuit Cleaner That Works for supporting this initiative with eco-friendly wetsuit wash.
Diolch Hour provided drink and nibbles for all of the volunteers to say ‘thank you’ and there were also prizes presented from an ‘In It to Win It’ draw.
Across the weekend there was also an opportunity to try on and order Welsh Sailing / Hwylio Cymru branded merchandise – visit the shop here.
Early start
With a breezy and building forecast for the Sunday, the next day saw an early start with a 9:57 warning signal. With a south-westerly breeze of 10 knots with some big gusts, the main fleet completed five races, and the regatta fleet another three.
This wrapped up a total of eight races for both fleets over the weekend with two discards and when the sailors came ashore, all were presented at the top of the slipway with wooden Participation Medals from Pembrokeshire company Tides and Trails.
Welsh kitefoiler Catrin Williams from the British Sailing Team presented medals to the winning sailors at the prizegiving, and feedback about the event from the sailors was invited using a ‘postbox’ for suggestions, stickers and rubber ducks.
Overall results:
- Welsh Regional Junior Championships 2025 - Single Handers
- Welsh Regional Junior Championships 2025 - Double Handers
- Welsh Regional Junior Championships 2025 - Coached Regatta
New faces
Sarah McGovern, RYA Cymru Wales Performance Manager, said: “It was great to see so many new faces. The regatta fleet had 15 dinghies and three windsurfers, which is the biggest we have seen in a while. As always a big thank you to the volunteers, coaches and to Celtic Sea Watersports, Dale Yacht Club and Windswept Watersports for hosting us. Good luck to everyone competing over the summer and we look forward to seeing you all in August at our OnBoard Festival!”
Commenting on running her first big championship as RYA Cymru Wales’ new Pathway and Events Officer, Hatty Morsley added: “It was an awesome weekend, thank you to all the volunteers for helping and everyone for coming. We tried a few new initiatives with aim of making the event fun, social and safe, hopefully you all enjoyed it!”
Upcoming events
The RYA Cymru Wales OnBoard Festival will take place over the weekend of 30-31 August 2025 at Bala Sailing Club – look out for entries opening soon and save the date!
There are also lots more Dragon Series events to enjoy over summer –
- 12 July - Cardiff Bay YC (South)
- 20 July - Port Dinorwic SC (North)
- 27 July - Fishguard Bay YC (West)
- 2 August - Pembrokeshire YC (West)
- 9 August – Mumbles YC (South)
- 16 August - Llyn Brenig SC (North)
- 17 August - Dale YC/ Celtic Sea (West)
Find all the details and entry when open for each event at Dragon Series 2025.
Remember you can keep up with all the latest news and events by following RYA Cymru Wales on Facebook, X and Instagram.
