Amélie Ballantyne, Topper/Feva/Laser/ILCA sailor, currently (2025) trains with SYC Juniors. She competes at regional and national level in her Topper and has honed her skills on various regional training programmes. A recipient of prestigious sponsorships, Amélie also engages in environmental initiatives and writes for All At Sea sailing newspaper. Find Amélie on social media using @sailorgirlsw

I first fell in love with sailing when I was ten years old and joined Starcross Yacht Club Juniors. At first, sailing was just about having fun on the water with my friends, but everything changed after my very first junior regatta at the Club, which I loved. Soon after, I entered my first regional event through the RYA, and that opened up an entirely new world of sailing. Also, to my amazement, I came away with a 3rd-place medal in my first event! That early success made me even more determined to keep on sailing. Since then, I have regularly been competing both regionally and nationally through ITCA (International Topper Class Association), racing against the best Topper sailors in the county, sometimes in fleets of over 100 boats.

One of my proudest achievements over the last couple of years was being awarded a place on the Topper RTG, a British Youth Sailing / RYA-led Regional Training Group that you have to pass qualification and be selected for. The RTG coaches were some of the most inspiring and skilled coaches I have ever had, and they made a massive difference in helping me push my skills to the next level. Another achievement from the last year is that I placed 1st female Topper sailor in the Southwest, and 5th overall, in the South West: a region that has some of the top national sailors, before making it into the Gold Fleet at the Topper Nationals. 

As well as sailing my Topper nationally, I also still sail at SYC and take part in club racing with my mum - first racing in our RS Feva, and then the RS 200. Club racing is great fun as you get to know lots of different members and race against a range of boats. Sailing double-handers really helped progress my sailing and it was great that we also managed to win a few races along the way! When the time came to transition to a different class of boat (Laser), SYC Juniors supported me well with the move, giving me guidance on rigging and technique. I have now been selected as part of the RYA Talent Academy Program for ILCA4 and this year will be competing nationally on the ILCA4 representing SYC.

As my sailing journey has progressed, I have also been fortunate to have picked up sponsorships from several leading companies. Earlier this year I became a Team Rider for Rooster and I also now have a new sponsorship with Goat Marine who have supplied my most recent Topper. It’s quite amazing that what started out as sailing on Junior nights has opened so many doors for me in the sailing world including writing regularly for All at Sea newspaper and even becoming a UK ambassador for Clean Sailors, working to promote clean oceans and responsible sailing.

I owe so much of my progress to Starcross Yacht Club and the team of people who volunteer to run the Juniors. The support, encouragement, and coaching I receive there has had a huge impact on my sailing journey, which has become very important to me. I’m incredibly grateful to be part of such a fantastic club.

Amélie Ballantyne (2025)

• Amélie was awarded SYC's Rising Star Sailor Award in 2024, followed in 2025 by the George Eaton Junior Shield for her sailing achievements outside SYC

Izzy Smith sailed on multihulls at SYC from a young age. Following her achievement as Nacra 15 National Champion in 2022, Izzy has moved from multihull to skiff and is aiming, alongside her university studies, to represent her country at the highest level in the 49erFX Olympic Women's Skiff class.

I was introduced to sailing by my Dad, sailing with him on his Hurricane at Starcross YC from a young age. When I was 8, I started Junior sailing in an Oppie, progressing into Toppers and Fevas. When the Club bought the Dart 15 for the Juniors, I often spent my Friday nights learning more about sailing on two hulls, which provided a valuable baseline for my future sailing.

At 13, I began to crew for my Dad more regularly on the Hurricane, racing at my first open events – I really enjoyed the competitive aspect of racing and the friendliness of the big fleet! From then on, I crewed for my Dad on the Hurricane in club races every Sunday and in various national events around the country. This really improved my racing skills and gave me great experience moving forwards.

In 2021, I went to Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy for a taster session on the Nacra 15, the RYA Youth Multihull class. The sailors were really welcoming, and I was immediately hooked by this semi-foiling boat! I competed in three RYA Youth National Championships, multiple World and European Championships and UK events as part of the RYA Youth Performance Squad.

In 2022, after a testing week of close racing in very light winds, my sailing partner and I won the RYA Youth Nationals in Pwllheli, North Wales. We finished 19th and first British boat in a fleet of nearly 60 international boats at the 2022 World Championships in Lake Garda, and competed internationally in the Nacra 15 European Super Series in 2022 and 2023. I have been fortunate to spend some time sailing the Nacra 17 Olympic multihull class, competing in the Semaine Olympique Française in Hyères, racing against many Olympic sailors in the Nacra 17 fleet.

In the summer of 2023, I was selected as part of the RYA Crew4Gold Programme which aimed to develop crews for the 49erFX Olympic Women’s Skiff class, and accelerate transition from youth level into the British Sailing Team. This programme provided fantastic opportunities to learn from world-class coaches, broadening my skill set through training and racing both in the UK and abroad; our first events in the class included Kiel Week and the 49erFX Junior World Championships in Spain.

I am looking forward to continuing to focus on campaigning in the 49erFX, alongside my studies at the University of Southampton, with the aim of representing Great Britain at the highest level in sailing in the future. This summer (2025) we are looking forward to testing ourselves against the strong international fleet at the Junior World Championships in Denmark, as well as the World Championships in Italy.

Izzy Smith: My Sailing Journey (2022)

Sam Woolner began sailing at SYC as a five-year-old Junior and continues today (2025) as a stalwart of Club racing and passionate advocate of the Hornet class, in which he has competed at European level and still competes nationally. Off the water, Sam is Managing Director of Exe Sails and Covers in Topsham, and Starcross Yacht Club is grateful for his company's generous sponsorship of prizes at recent major events.

I started sailing on the first Junior night, back when I was 5. My parents threw me out in a club Oppy, on a leash in a force 5. I think this is where my love of windy weather comes from. I got my first Oppy when I was 7; it was my first boat restoration (with a bit of help from my Dad). I went up the groups in my Oppy ending up in the top group back when it was full of Oppies instead of Lasers, doing Opens and the Nationals. I got some really good coaching and have fond memories of the top Oppy group coached by Roger Taylor, Crispin and my Dad.But, not being the smallest child around, I moved up into a Mirror, doing a bit of crewing for a few people including memorable windy open meetings with Olly Taylor. Finally I got my own Mirror, but it didn't feel fast enough as a helm and after a year I moved out and got my first Laser.

By this time I had been working at Spinnakers for a year, starting when I was 11. I worked my way up the Laser ladder meanwhile getting very valuable training at SYC on Friday nights, which considerably helped when it came to doing my youth certificates at Spinnakers. After doing the Laser thing, I decided that, now being an instructor and having felt I had got everything I could out of the Junior boats and nights, I sold my Laser and started to help coach the Lasers on Friday nights in 2003. In 2004 I bought my first Hornet, sailing it with Matt McGrath, and eventually ended up crewing for Will in 2005. With all our experience, knowledge and racing skills from the Junior nights, we were able to get 10th place at the Hornet Europeans in 2006. On the dinghy team at Uni I sailed a 49er and studied to be a senior instructor.

Without the Junior nights, I wouldn't be the sailor and coach I am today. I think that learning to sail, in such a brilliant atmosphere with your friends and great coaches, is really important and it's what gave me my head start in sailing. Thanks to the SYC Junior nights, sailing is a huge part of my life, I've made so many friends and had the chance to sail in too many classes to list. I've been to Europeans, Nationals and too many Open meetings to think about.

It's all thanks to all the people who put in so much hard work to make sure SYC have future sailors and champions.