Welsh Youth & Junior Championships 2024
Nearly 100 sailors from across Wales and beyond took part in an epic weekend of racing at Pwllheli for the Welsh Youth & Junior Championships.
With conditions ranging from glamour to rain-soaked, a full range of winds tested the skills and tactics of both the coached regatta and championship fleets.
A total of 83 boats and 95 sailors competed across the weekend (21-22 September 2024) hosted by Plas Heli and supported by more than 40 dedicated volunteers, coaches and staff.
The weekend also saw the exciting launch of a new Welsh Sailing / Hwylio Cymru brand.
Breeze on
The fleets set off into sunshine and a 17-knot breeze, which saw a variable north-easterly of 10-16 knots on the championship course along with big 60 degree wind shifts for competitors and the race committee across a packed schedule of five races.
For the coached regatta fleet, the conditions were particularly challenging for launching and both sailors and parents showed great resilience getting on the water. A day of confidence-building saw the regatta fleet playing games and also completing five races.
A special guest for the day was Rob Davies, a performance and pathway advisor from Sport Wales, who loved the opportunity to get afloat and see the action.
Another welcome visitor was former Welsh Yachting Association chair Bob Lowe.
Big tide
The weekend saw the biggest tide of the year with sailors and parents pulling boats over a long haul at the end of the day on Saturday, with trollies then as high up the beach as possible on the Sunday!
This proved to be a typically Welsh day on the weather front, with rain setting in at lunchtime as both fleets completed three more races in lighter but steadier winds of 8-10 knots, again from the north-east.
As one South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club volunteer summed up: “It was an absolute pleasure to meet the competitors and volunteers this weekend. We were on the committee boat and very impressed by the boat handling skills of everyone.”
Alongside the racing, parents were likewise making the most of the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors at Pwllheli with lots of winging and open water swimming, and Plas Heli also had its autumn keelboat series underway.
Medals for all
The weekend wrapped up with the traditional prizegiving and participation medals for all of the competitors across both fleets thanks to Tide and Trails.
Overall results Welsh Youth & Junior Championships:
Performance Manager Sarah McGovern said: “‘A huge thank you to everyone for their support over the weekend helping to run and organise the Welsh Y&J Championships.
“You know it’s a well-oiled machine when there are no hiccups and everyone is working collaboratively. Well done to the race teams for getting in a full series for both main fleet and regatta fleet. And thank you to those visiting sailors who came over to join us.
“It is the end of our RYA Cymru Wales racing season. Squad selections will be taking place next week and we will have open training dates coming out very soon!”
To keep up to date with all the latest opportunities follow @RYACymru Wales on Facebook, X and Instagram and bookmark our open training hub.
