Every so often we hear from young people who have taken part in one or more of our programmes about how they’ve benefited. Here’s how five of our young sailors are getting on.
Bradley
Born with pseudarthrosis in his tibia and having a leg amputated when he was three, Bradley had to overcome more challenges in his first 11 years than many of us would ever think possible in our lifetimes. He believes learning to sail is what enabled him to do it. He started sailing from Polkerris Beach in 2018 when he was in Year 5 at Foxhole Learning Academy in St Austell, one of the schools supported by the Trust. After winning RYA OnBoard’s Panerai Challenger Trophy in 2019, he decided to become a professional Paralympic sailor and was selected for All Round Champion Series 5, an event for 10 top young athletes from around the world, televised in 2022 and 2023. He says: “If there’s anything other people can do with two legs, I can do it with one.”
Willow
Willow is on a mission to inspire other young women to take up sailing. She first took to the water in the small group sailing courses organised by RYST for Brannel and other Clay Country schools during the pandemic, thanks to funding from Cornwall Community Foundation and The TK Foundation. After passing RYA Levels 1-4, she went on the Aspire360 Round Britain Challenge with Morvargh Sailing Project. In 2023, her passion for racing led her to be included in RYA’s Crew4Gold, a talent search to discover female athletes capable of becoming Olympic medal-winners. Now she’s progressed to the UK 29-er Class Academy, taking part in her first national competition in summer 2024.
At a recent training weekend, Willow said: “I came off the water with so much adrenaline I felt I could achieve absolutely anything. Sailing has changed my life. If you’re ever offered the chance of learning to sail, just say yes.”
Ana
Ana ran the Brighton Marathon on 7 April 2024 and raised £1700 for the Trust, including enough to fund a place for a venturer in the 2024 Offshore Sailing expedition.
She says: “Back in 2016 when I was 17, I was lucky enough to have been sponsored by RYST to participate in the Tall Ships race from Lisbon to Cadiz. I remember going to Lisbon feeling sick to my stomach and telling my mum that I couldn’t do it. By the end of the trip, I was absolutely gutted to be leaving and cried. It’s an experience that I still cherish eight years later and one that I hope many more people can do.”
Ruby
Ruby was a venturer in our 2023 Offshore Expedition, sailing from Falmouth to A Coruna in Spain as part of the Tall Ships Races Magellan Elcano 2023. A keen sailor and sportswoman who was studying for a BTec Extended Diploma in Sport at Callywith College, she turned 18 on the second day of the voyage. She joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in June 2024. Now in her Phase 2 Training at RNAS Culdrose, she’s learning to be an Aircraft Handler, qualifying in June 2025 – and loving it.
Says Ruby: “The opportunity to be part of the Tall Ships with support from Roseland Youth Sailing Trust and my sponsor Cornwall Marine Network has been invaluable. I loved the voyage on TS Maybe, being onboard and experiencing life at sea. I enjoyed the teamwork, keeping watch and learning navigation skills. After the voyage Cornwall Marine Network put me in touch with Lieutenant-Commander Trevor Brookes, Resident Naval Officer, who kindly gave me further advice and support during my application process. I really appreciate all the opportunities that were given to me and feel they have helped me pursue my career and achieve my goals.”
Josh
Like Ana, Josh (pictured in Brindisi during the Nastro Rosa round Italy race) has been both a beneficiary and supporter of RYST. Sponsored by accountants Phillips Frith, he took part in our 2021 offshore sailing expedition, having been a keen dinghy racer who learned to sail with RYST but had never been out of sight of land until the voyage to the Scillies. After that voyage he and his friend Josh raised enough in a two-day 200-mile fund-raising cycle trip around all 20 sailing clubs in Cornwall to send two young people on our 2022 expedition.
Then he did delivery trips on a Volvo 70 and he worked most of his gap year as a deckhand on the 42-metre classic gaff schooner Mariette, joining in time to win the 2023 Richard Mille Cup Regatta and then sailing off to the Mediterranean.
Now he’s studying for an M.Eng in Ship Science at Southampton University. His mother made a surprise trip to Brindisi to meet him. She says: “I love to see how much he thrives and achieves in his sailing, and I just want to say a huge thank-you to RYST for all the support you gave him over the years.”
We wish them all success.