At the Regional Junior Championships held in June at Grafham Water, the OnBoard fleet aimed to build the confidence of those new to racing and being away from their home club, as an introductory event with plenty of ‘games with aims’. Each year, one of the young sailors at the event is awarded the Chris Edwards’ Trophy in memory of Commander Chris Edwards RN Retd, a previous Chair of the RYA East Region and a member of the RYA Council, for the young sailor who demonstrates the most ‘determination and endeavour’ in their sailing at the event. In 2022 this was Scarlett Levell, a young sailor from Essex Yacht Club, who overcame several setbacks to enjoy her sailing at the event, and since.
As her Mum Katie explains: “Scarlett started to learn to sail at one of our local clubs a few years ago and was making steady progress over the weeks and months when she suffered a bad capsize, and was absolutely terrified of getting back in a sailing boat again. Nothing we said or did could change her mind.”
She went on to explain that as her brother was taking part in the Regional Junior Championships, Scarlett was booked onto the OnBoard fleet – but she was extremely nervous of taking part – and her Mum hoped that with the right encouragement Scarlett might have been able to overcome her fear – and she was very pleased that she did!
Katie added “It was wonderful to see Scarlett out on the water at Grafham crewing and then helming one of the OnBoard sailing dinghies and we’re so thankful to the amazing instructors for helping her to find the confidence to do it. Scarlett was very proud of herself for managing to get back on the water and was both extremely surprised and overwhelmed when she received the Chris Edward’s trophy.”
“Since that OnBoard event Scarlett has completed Cadet Week at her local yacht club in her Optimist. We went right back to basics with me swimming alongside the boat to build her confidence back up. We also spent a week on a yacht in Greece, sailing around the Ionian – which she thoroughly enjoyed, whether it be jumping off the boat for a swim, moving fenders or helming at the wheel. While she might not follow in her brother’s footsteps of dinghy racing, she would really love to just feel confident in her boat again and we would all agree that the OnBoard event – and receiving such a wonderful trophy in recognition of her determination and endeavour – has given her the foundation for that.”
Run by the RYA, OnBoard is a grass roots programme which introduces sailing and windsurfing to young people aged 8 to 18, through schools, youth groups and training centres.
The low cost sessions are designed to promote equal access to sailing for young people from all social and economic backgrounds, whilst encouraging their character development.
Since 2005, OnBoard has introduced more than 900,000children to sailing and windsurfing in the UK, converting some 70,000 of them into regular participants.
For more information about how to get out on the water in the East Region, visit https://www.rya.org.uk/start-boating
