The Welsh National Sailing Team has smashed out top 10 results at two world championship regattas.

Jac Bailey and Ben Sinfield claimed 6^th overall at the 29er Worlds in Kiel, Germany, with team mates Ben Greenhalgh and Tom Sinfield hot on their heels in 9^th.

And at the 420 Worlds in Biscarrosse, France, Welsh crew Merle Nieuwland sailing with coach Neil Marsden finished third mixed team and 6^th overall in their fleet.

The top performing Welsh 29er and 420 sailors have all been in Hwylio Cymru | Welsh Sailing performance squads, and benefited from Sport Wales-funded boats and kit, enabling them to achieve at the highest levels of competition.

Sarah McGovern, Chief Operating Officer for RYA Cymru Wales, said: “It is absolutely awesome to see so many Welsh Sailors competing on the world stage. There were six boats with Welsh sailors at the 420 championship and four boats with Welsh sailors in the 29ers.

“Having two Welsh 29er boats in the top 10 at the 29er Worlds is absolutely unheard of - a sign of brilliant things to come - and a huge well done to Merle for podiuming in her last 420 event.

"A massive thank you to Sport Wales for their continued support of our Hwylio Cymru performance programmes.”

29er worlds

The fiercely competitive 29er World Championships on the Baltic Sea in north Germany had more than 270 entries, with often full-on conditions putting boat handling and teamwork to the test in the youth skiff class.

Commenting afterwards, Jac Bailey and Ben Sinfield said: “6th in the World! A mega week of racing in a pretty breezy World Championships. Super proud of the result we managed to put down together for our last 29er worlds.”

The pair congratulated fellow Welsh team Tom Sinfield/Ben Greenhalgh, along with Dirk Rogers and William McEwen (Royal Lymington YC) for getting three GBR boats in the top 15, adding: “Massive thanks to RYA Cymru Wales for their endless support to get us to where we are today. Thanks also to Cofio Robin, Allen Sailing, Rope4boats.co.uk and Sports Aid Wales.”

Overall results – 29er World Championship 2026

Both the top Welsh 29er teams are based at Clwb Hwylio Y Felinheli / Port Dinorwic SC, with Sinfield siblings Ben and Tom, along with sailing partners Jac and Ben, having all come up through Welsh squads.

Immediately preceding the 29er championship was the annual Kieler Woche regatta, which saw Ben and Tom finishing 3^rd men’s team & 5^th overall in a very competitive Eurocup fleet with 157 entries right before the worlds.

Tom said: “At Kiel Week we sailed really well in the light and are pleased to have managed to get a top 5 in a challenging week. In the worlds it was a rough start with a yellow flag and a big error on the first day but we kept our heads high and results consistent to manage to climb into the top 10, which we were overall very proud of in a windy week.”

420 Worlds

After six days of challenging conditions, changing leaderboards and a weather-induced lay day, the 420 World Championship at Biscarrosse in south-west  France saw tight battles unfolding in both the Women’s and Men’s/Mixed fleets.

In the spotlight as one of the standout stories of the championship, Neil Marsden was returning to World Championship racing at the age of 64 after many years dedicated to coaching, partnered by recent Youth Worlds gold medallist Merle Nieuwland from Cardiff Bay YC in the 147-entry Men’s/Mixed fleet.

Proving that experience and youth can be a perfect combination the pair secured 6^th overall in their fleet and a bronze medal, with Merle commenting afterwards: “It was a great week with some super tight racing and lots learnt. Super proud to be racing at the top of the fleet and to come away as 3rd mixed team.”

Overall results - 420 World Championship 2026

Merle has now moved up into the 470 Olympic class and is competing at the 470 Junior Worlds and Junior Europeans in Poland and Lithuania respectively over summer, progressing her journey in the sport representing GBR.

Apply now

Those who represented Wales at the 420 and 29er worlds will be among the first to receive Welsh Sail / Hwyl Cymru awards – equivalent to a ‘Welsh cap’ – following the introduction of a new set of performance awards for Welsh sailing competitors and coaches.

The Welsh National Sailing Team supports around 70 young Welsh sailors across seven junior and youth classes, providing squad camps and world-class coaching from top RYA Cymru Wales coaches. 

The selection policy for the 2026-2027 Welsh National Sailing Team is live and applications will open in September 2026. Find out more at: Squads | Hwylio Cymru - Welsh Sailing.