Okay, so here is where I’m supposed to introduce myself, but who am I? It’s a tough question to answer, but this is what I know so far.

• I’m 19
• I’m female and my pronouns are she/her
• sailing is what I choose to define myself by, it is what gives me confidence
• I started sailing when I was 12 at Fishguard Bay Yacht Club
• I work as a dinghy instructor full-time in Pembroke dock (PPSA).
• I have mostly sailed dinghies. Travelling around the country to various competitions and training camps.

Knowledge and experience.

I first learnt to sail when I was 12 at my local yacht club, and I have loved it with a passion ever since. I started off sailing a Topper on Thursday nights and soon went on to compete in local races at weekends. I discovered Feva sailing, and I gained a place in the Welsh National Feva Squad. I became even more enthusiastic about sailing, I loved the competitions and travelling up and down the country. As I got older, with help from the John Merricks trust, I moved up to a 420 – a bigger, faster, and more complicated boat than I was used to. I went to class training and worked my way up to gain a place in this Welsh National Squad.

I attended evening classes and gained my Day Skipper Theory when I was 14. Through Sea Cadets, I was given the opportunity to join some of their yacht trips which showed me another side to sailing. On the first trip, I sailed a Tradewind 35 in Scotland around the Isle of Mull. I gained so much confidence on this trip and the skipper, Andy, let me act as navigator and helped me with the passage plan. I even taught him some tips on sailing an asymmetric spinnaker. I learned that onboard, knowledge and experience mattered more than age or gender. I felt like I could also give something back whilst I was learning from them. Later, again with cadets, I sailed a Rustler 42 from Largs across to Ireland and around Lands’ End to Falmouth covering around 500 miles. The more experience I got the more my confidence grew.

Four years ago, me and my friend Finn convinced our parents, who at the time knew very little about sailing, to buy a shared boat (an Elizabethan 23) for £400. We sailed her on a shoestring out of Fishguard bay. I learned about making budgeting decisions and deciding priorities in terms of renovation. To start with we sailed only in the bay and as we began to put trust in our ability we went further afield. We explored the coastline and experienced the tides at Ramsey sound. The most extended trip I skippered was to Aberystwyth where we stayed the night in a marina and returned the next day. I learnt a lot from this boat but when lockdown hit, I knew it was time to move on. We sold our boat share to another local family, and she is still sailing.

I did my work experience at PPSA (Pembrokeshire Performance Sailing Academy) and began to volunteer there over the summer. After I turned 16 and passed my Dinghy Instructor qualification I began working during the holidays and at weekends. I now work full time as a dinghy, powerboat and jet ski instructor.