An exciting pathway through the sport of sailing has taken student Ellie Clark from grassroots fun at her inland club in Yorkshire through to top level big boat racing on the south coast.
It’s a journey which has seen Ellie taking on various aspects of the sport while at the same time gaining RYA Dinghy Instructor, First Aid, Powerboat and Race Coach Level 2 qualifications.
Now aged 20, Ellie first started sailing aged three, crewing for her dad Bernard in Mirror and National 12 dinghies on the small water of the family’s home club, Ripon SC in North Yorkshire.
Progressing as a junior and youth sailor through the RYA pathway, from RS Teras to Fevas and 420s, selection to the British Keelboat Academy (BKA) 2020 squad followed, along with a place to study Sports & Exercise Science (Performance Sailing) at Chichester University, where she is currently in her second year.
Both the BKA and her location on the south coast have opened doors to keelboat contacts and opportunities which have seen Ellie competing in RYA Match Racing events and the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s offshore series – including 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race – and also with a team of students from Chichester University, as part of the Royal London Yacht Club’s Etchells Youth Academy.
The team is hoping to qualify for the Etchells Worlds taking place from Cowes this September and in the meantime Ellie, who also sails a Europe dinghy, has a packed summer ahead, including plans for more big boat sailing, dinghy coaching, developing her windsurfing skills and trying kitesurfing!
Ellie is also a member of Chichester YC and Overy Staithe SC on the East coast and was invited to share her story by the RYA as part of World Sailing’s Steering the Course celebration of women in sailing, in a video which can be seen here. On the day of filming, she had just competed in RORC’s De Guingand Bowl Race aboard Ronan Banim’s First 40 Galahad of Cowes, which finished 5th in IRC1.
Ellie said: “Although we’re not fully there yet I think there are definitely more opportunities for women in sailing and recognition now that girls can do the same job as guys on a boat, so my advice to others is to stick at it and those opportunities will open up more and more.
“I also like to think that sharing stories as part of World Sailing’s Steering the Course festival will give encouragement to the next generation – when I was growing up, I’d have loved to know about girls older than me who were sailing and achieving different things in the sport.”
Ellie’s experiences have inspired her to not only compete but also give back to the sport, and she is keen to pursue a career either within or alongside sailing. As well as instructing and coaching, she has been a member of the RYA Race Officials Academy and has supported Sailability as an onboard crew at its keelboat events. For her degree, work experience will include spending time at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.
She said: “Sailing offers a great lifestyle and you get to travel and experience new things so it’s quite fun. I would say give it a go, don’t be discouraged and try to stick at it because you will get there. It’s really about taking every opportunity you get. Even if it’s not something you think you might like, get out and experience it. It will give you a chance to meet people and make new friends and you never know where it will take you!”
Find out more about the Steering the Course festival and opportunities for women in sailing
