Youth America's Cup - RHKYC Team Agiplast appoints Chris Rashley as Head Coach

Chris Rashley at the Moth Worlds © Sander van der Borch

Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club is pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Rashley to be the Head Coach of the Club's entry into the Youth America's Cup, RHKYC Team Agiplast.

Chris, an experienced international foiling coach from the United Kingdom, started sailing at the age of nine and his passion and enthusiasm for the sport has never wavered. At 16 he left school to pursue a career in sailing and in 2005 as Tornado helm was part of the British Sailing Team's development programme. Having switched from Tornados to 49ers when the Tornados were deselected as an Olympic sailing class, in 2010 he was appointed Head 49er Coach of the Irish Olympic Team. Chris returned to the British Sailing Team in 2013 to take a role as Podium 49er FX coach during the Rio Olympic cycle. In 2016 he started sailing the Nacra 17 and once again joined the British Sailing Team in 2017.

In addition to juggling full time coaching commitments, he was also an integral part of the Exocet Moth development project working with Kevin Ellway and Simon Maguire and won four European Championships and placed five times in the top 10 at the Moth Worlds, twice finishing 2nd. Within the Moth class he has also coached Paul Goodison, Brad Funk, Victor Diaz de Leon, Dylan Fletcher and Rome Kirby, to name a few, who all went on to win or medal at major Championships.

Chris finds working with high level sailors and athletes very rewarding. His work ethos is "to train smart with the time you have, work harder than anyone else, make daily notes and keep video to track your progress", and he says that any sailor that is selected to be part of RHKYC Team Agiplast will need to come equipped with the same mind set and have a high degree of mental toughness which is a key to success.

Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club's Rear Commodore (Sailing), Lucy Sutro said "RHKYC is very lucky to have a coach of Chris' pedigree to join RHKYC Team Agiplast as the Head Coach. He brings with him a wealth of experience at international competitions, and I know the team will learn a lot from working with him. We are all looking forward to this campaign and to building a legacy that future youth sailors in Hong Kong can benefit from."

"I am very much looking forward to working alongside the dedicated team at RHKYC. They have put together a highly professional campaign plan and possess a wealth of experience to draw from when taking on a project of this scale." said Rashley, adding "We have now received 12 applications from some very promising candidates who are excited about the opportunity of representing the Club at the Youth America's Cup. I look forward to sharing my foiling experience and knowledge with the lucky few who make the sailing team and, hopefully, they will go on to shape and push the limits of foiling sailing in the future".

Apart from being able to coach the crew of RHKYC Team Agiplast, ocean conservation is also one of the elements that attracted Chris to join the RHKYC's Challenge. "The environment, especially ocean water quality is something I think about every day. I spend most of my time in/on around the water so for me tackling plastic pollution is a top priority. Working with a team committed to improving the environment and tackling this issue will make working with the Club and Agiplast a pleasure, not a chore." he said.