Welsh youth sailors impress on world stage
by RYA Cymru Wales 18 Jul 03:35 NZST
Top two Welsh teams at the 29er World Championship © RYA Cymru Wales
The Welsh National Sailing Team has smashed out top ten results at two world championship regattas.
Jac Bailey and Ben Sinfield claimed sixth overall at the 29er Worlds in Kiel, Germany, with team mates Ben Greenhalgh and Tom Sinfield hot on their heels in ninth.
And at the 420 Worlds in Biscarrosse, France, Welsh crew Merle Nieuwland sailing with coach Neil Marsden finished third mixed team and sixth 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! Super proud of the result we managed to put down together for our last 29er worlds. Kiel threw everything at us. Every day was a different day from windy to light to shifty to wavy, we had it all! We were able to stay consistent throughout the week and able to rely fully on our equipment with no breakages thanks to RYA Cymru Wales supporting us with the best kit!"
The pair congratulated fellow Welsh team Ben Greenhalgh/Tom Sinfield, along with Dirk Rogers/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."
Jac and Ben are hoping to gain selection for a second year running to represent GBR in the 29er class at the Youth Sailing World Championships in Vilamoura, Portugal, in December 2026, before moving on and transitioning into the Olympic 49er class.
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 Greenhalgh/Tom Sinfield finishing third men's team and fifth 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 five 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 ten, 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 sixth 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