Inspiration Inspiring more people to explore and learn through being on water. Sailing success around the world
British sailors have had a phenomenal year in world and continental competitions, collecting record medal hauls and adding new titles to the trophy cabinet:
• It was wonderful to see windsurfing talents Emma Wilson and Andy Brown take their first ever World titles at the 2025 iQFOiL World Championships in Aarhaus, Denmark. Up against challenging conditions and stiff competition, the pair put in some gritty performances to take the titles in thrilling finals.
• The road to LA 2028 is open and the British Sailing Team made waves with a record medal haul at the April 2025 curtain raiser in Mallorca. Two-time Olympic bronze medallist Emma Wilson won the top award, the prestigious Trofeo Princesa Sofia, in recognition of her sheer dominance in the iQFOiL windsurfing class. Micky Beckett came first in the ILCA 7 men’s dinghy fleet for an unprecedented fourth year in a row. Tokyo 2020 silver medallists John Gimson and Anna Burnet got the gold this time in the Nacra 17, adding to the golden haul alongside Freya Black and Saskia Tidey in the 49erFX and Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris in the 470. Lily Young took silver in the women’s Formula Kite fleet with Paris 2024 gold medallist Ellie Aldridge taking bronze. Elliot Hanson collected a silver medal in the ILCA 7, while up-and-coming talent Daisy Collingridge bagged her first medal at senior level with a bronze in the ILCA 6. Huge congratulations go out to this dedicated and domineering team. We wish them luck as they continue to train for LA 2028!
• Welshman Micky Beckett stormed to his second ILCA 7 European title at the 2025 ILCA Senior European Championships & Open European Trophy in Marstrand, Sweden. He overcame some of the troubles he had experienced at the Worlds event earlier in the year to clinch the title.
• Emma Wilson saw success at the 2025 iQFOiL Senior European Championships in Italy, adding a silver to her impressive medal tally. In the men’s fleet,
22-year-old Finn Hawkins took bronze – he’s fast becoming a rising star in windsurfing.
• Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris dominated in the 470 pairs at the 2026 European Championship. They held their nerve in unpredictable conditions to maintain the lead they had going into the final, crossing the line in first place to secure their title.
• Big congratulations also go out to the British Youth Sailing Team who delivered an outstanding performance at the 2025 Youth Sailing Championships at Vilamoura, Portugal. This competition represents the pinnacle of the youth pathway for sailors aged between 12 and 19, acting as a springboard for Olympic and professional careers. So keep an eye out for Lila Edwards and Amelie Hiscocks (gold, female 29er class), Sabine Potter and Merle Nieuwland (gold, 420 class) and Emma Rennie (silver, Formula Kite class) as they continue to chase their racing dreams.
• Britain’s para sailors achieved some stand-out results at the World Sailing Inclusion Championships in Oman in December 2025. Rory McKinna won gold in the one-person Hansa 303 class to follow his World Championship winning performance in Australia in the two-person class earlier in the year. Founder of Autism on the Water, Murray Macdonald stood on the top step of the podium in the Intellectual Impairment ILCA 6. Our FarEast 28R visually impaired fleet came home with two titles, as Lucy Hodges, Jamie Tylecote, Liam Cattermole, and Steve Tylecote won gold. They were joined in the medal ceremony by Karl Haines, Colin Midgley, Gary Butler, and Martin Phillips who brought home the bronze.
• We were thrilled to have been announced as hosts of the 2026 iQFOiL World Championship. Six days of world-class racing took place in Weymouth & Portland in September 2026. A full report on the event will be included in next year’s Annual Strategic Report.
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RYA Annual Strategic Report 2025
eport 2026
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