Inspirational Sarah lands top honour

An inspirational sailor from Paignton Sailing Club was among youngsters from around the UK who were celebrated in the RYA Musto Youth Awards, which were presented at the RYA Dinghy and Watersports Show at the end of February.

The awards celebrate the achievements of young people in the sport, whether on the racecourse, volunteering, instructing, coaching or overcoming adversity. They were presented by Olympic gold medallist Dylan Fletcher and RYA Director of Racing, Ian Walker.

Sarah Probert joined Paignton Sailing Club in 2017 and for the last few years has helped with the junior sailing club, and, as a DI, with junior and adult Learn to Sail courses.

She is always willing to help sailors of all abilities and experience and has recently achieved her RCL2, keen to impart her racing knowledge to others. Sarah also volunteers regularly on club racing events and large regattas, and has recently completed her RRO course.

She commented: “I thoroughly enjoyed my day at the RYA Dinghy and Watersports Show and feel very privileged to have been selected for this award. It was amazing to receive this from Dylan Fletcher! A big thank-you to Paignton Sailing Club for nominating me and Musto for sponsoring this event. The kit will come in handy for this summer!"

Ian Walker said: “Congratulations to all the winners. It’s very impressive hearing what these young sailors have achieved in their lives. To have learnt so much about sailing themselves is a huge achievement, but to encourage others into our sport with such passion shows that the future of the sport is in good hands”.

Hugh Brayshaw, Musto Marketing Projects Manager added: “We’re very proud to be sponsoring the Youth Awards again especially when we learn about the worthy winners and their stories. Hearing about how sailing has helped overcome difficult times in a young person’s life and the time donated to volunteering in their clubs is very inspiring to us. We hope this year’s winners enjoy the Musto kit, it is extremely well deserved”.

Find more information on how to get youngsters into sailing www.rya.org.uk