Welsh Sailing OnBoard Festival 2026 at Bala Sailing Club
by RYA Cymru Wales 26 Aug 16:45 BST
Welsh Sailing OnBoard Festival prizegiving © Hester Walker
A sold out OnBoard Festival hosted by Welsh Sailing | Hwylio Cymru at Lake Bala saw 70 youth and junior competitors making the most of the sunshine for a fun weekend of racing and games with aims.
Open to sailors aged 8-18 of all levels and in any class of dinghy, the annual event took place at Bala Sailing Club (22-23 August 2026), with a total of 67 entries: 23 in the Training Fleet; 29 in the Junior Fleet; and 15 in the General Fleet.
With friendly volunteers, coaches on hand and the Croeso wellbeing RIB on the water, there were also dinghies available to borrow for those who might not yet have their own, with Bala SC kindly loaning boats for sailors to use.
Action packed
Many enjoyed a long weekend, with 24 participants of all ages having arrived on the Friday to enjoy winging and WASZPing taster sessions before the main event.
Then although the wind was slow to arrive on the Saturday, a fancy dress pirate theme and giant SUP races kept competitors and spectators entertained, until the breeze filled in with 5-8 knots to allow four races for all three fleets.
Back ashore the action continued with an 'In it, to win it' prize draw featuring an array of prizes, including Intego Pro sun cream, a racing watch and burgees. Prizes were also awarded for the best pirate outfits to Evelyn Rawsthorne (training fleet) and Florence Banks (main fleet), who were up against some determined competition, with the chance to dress up having caught the imagination of parents, coaches and volunteers as well as the sailors.
The Welsh Sailing Wishy Washy station was in full spin for wetsuit washing thanks to Rins'd supporting the now regular initiative to encourage sailor hydration afloat and neoprene longevity.
With an awesome barbecue thanks to Bala Sailing Club's volunteers and most people camping, there was a festival atmosphere throughout the weekend.
Sunday dawned with thick fog, which burnt off very quickly to reveal more glorious sunshine - but unfortunately no wind for racing. The coaches sprang into action and ran some rigging, team building and giant SUPing games, then the AP over A flags for 'no more racing today' were displayed at 13:30, followed by the prize-giving. The top three sailors in each fleet were as follows.
Training fleet:
1. Carys Harding (Optimist, Cardiff Bay YC)
2. Molly Allen (Bug 17, Bala SC)
3. Freya Claypole (RS Tera Sport, Tata Steel SC Mumbles YC Cardiff Bay YC)
Junior fleet - Gold:
1. Sophie Forbes (Topper 5.3, Bartley SC)
2. Sebastian Kummer (RS Tera Pro, Neyland YC)
3. Summer Baylis (Topper 5.3, Dovey YC)
Junior Fleet - Silver:
1. Fletcher Sheehy (Optimist, Bala SC)
2. Sion Richings (Topper 5.3, Llandegfedd SC)
3. Kyle Bocking (Topper 5.3, Llandegfedd SC)
General Fleet:
1. Alexa Atkins (Gold, ILCA 6, Cardiff Bay YC)
2. Isabelle Nuttall (Silver, ILCA 4, Tenby SC)
3. Thomas Venning (Gold, ILCA 6, Port Dinorwic SC)
Full results: www.sailwave.com/results/rya-cymru/2026_RYA_Cymru_Onboard_Festival.htm
Alongside the medals and trophies, prizes included - thanks to an idea from the Welsh Sailing Youth LAB - a variety of rubber ducks, including a red dragon for 1st, white sheep for second and a puffin for third.
Dragon Series
The OnBoard Festival was also the last stop for this year's youth and junior Dragon Series, with participation medals for all along with overall prizes presented to the 1st and 2nd boy and girl in each category for each region.
Dry bags and yellow Welsh Sails / Hwyl Cymru also went to those who completed three or more Dragon Series events in the North and South, and to those who did two or more events in the West.
See series website: www.welshsailing.com/dragon-series
Three goals
Sarah McGovern, Chief Operating Officer for RYA Cymru Wales, said: "We had such a good time and as ever our OnBoard Festival proved to be the perfect event to round off this summer's competitive sailing before we head into autumn.
"Our competitors included first time racers who have only just learnt to sail, and our youngest was Erika Howell in the Training Fleet, who only just turned seven in July, so it was absolutely brilliant to see these new sailors taking part alongside our more experienced silver and gold fleet competitors - with everyone having a good time and lots of learning ashore and on the water.
"We gave the sailors three key aims for the weekend:
- Make new friends outside your club
- Learn something new
- And have fun
"At the end we lined up three pots labelled with these aims and asked the sailors to put a duck into the one that reflected what they felt they'd achieved or enjoyed the most. The results were that most had fun, a lot made new friends and at least some of them learnt something, so we're really happy with that as an outcome!"
A big thank you to Bala Sailing Club and its team for hosting and loaning boats and to the small army of 35 volunteers in total who turned out to support - these events simply don't happen without all your help. All volunteers were presented with blue Welsh Sail/Hwyl Cymru awards.
Thank you also to Plas Menai for lending two giant SUPs, our partners for their ongoing support, including Intego Sun Protection and Rins'd, and to all the parents for entering into the spirit of the occasion with their sailors.
Next up
Entries are now open for the Welsh Youth & Junior Championships, 12th-13th September 2026 at Plas Heli. This will include a Coached Regatta Fleet and a Main Fleet for Optimist, Topper, RS Tera, RS Feva, ILCA, BIC Techno, 420 and 29er sailors.
It is a must-do indicator event for sailors wanting to apply for selection to the Welsh National Sailing Team. This event is also open to all youth and junior sailors, not only those from Wales, with a warm welcome for everyone.
Additionally, for parents, carers or older siblings wanting to sail at the same time, the ILCA 6 & 7 fleet is open to adults as well as youth and junior sailors.
Enter now: www.welshsailing.com/welsh-youth-junior-championships