The Welsh National Sailing Team has smashed out top 10 results at two world championship regattas, the 29er and the 420 championships.

Jac Bailey and Ben Sinfield claimed sixth overall at the 29er Worlds in Kiel, Germany, with team mates Ben Greenhalgh and Tom Sinfield hot on their heels in ninth.

And at the 420 Worlds in Biscarrosse, France, Welsh crew Merle Nieuwland sailing with coach Neil Marsden finished third mixed team and sixth overall in their fleet.

The top performing Welsh 29er and 420 sailors have all been in Hwylio Cymru | Welsh Sailing performance squads, and benefited from Sport Wales-funded boats and kit, enabling them to achieve at the highest levels of competition.

“It is absolutely awesome to see so many Welsh sailors competing on the world stage.” Sarah McGovern, Chief Operating Officer for RYA Cymru Wales, said.

“There were six boats with Welsh sailors at the 420 championship and four boats with Welsh sailors in the 29ers.

“Having two Welsh 29er boats in the top 10 at the 29er Worlds is absolutely unheard of – a sign of brilliant things to come – and a huge well done to Merle for podiuming in her last 420 event.

“A massive thank you to Sport Wales for their continued support of our Hwylio Cymru performance programmes.”

The fiercely competitive 29er World Championships on the Baltic Sea in north Germany had more than 270 entries, with often full-on conditions putting boat handling and teamwork to the test in the youth skiff class.

“6th in the World! Super proud of the result we managed to put down together for our last 29er worlds,” Jac Bailey and Ben Sinfield said.

“Kiel threw everything at us. Every day was a different day from windy to light to shifty to wavy, we had it all! We were able to stay consistent throughout the week and able to rely fully on our equipment with no breakages thanks to RYA Cymru Wales supporting us with the best kit!”

Bailey and Sinfield are hoping to gain selection for a second year running to represent GBR in the 29er class at the Youth Sailing World Championships in Vilamoura, Portugal, in December 2026, before moving on and transitioning into the Olympic 49er class.

Both the top Welsh 29er teams are based at Clwb Hwylio Y Felinheli / Port Dinorwic SC, with Sinfield siblings Ben and Tom, along with sailing partners Jac and Ben, having all come up through Welsh squads.

Immediately preceding the 29er championship was the annual Kieler Woche regatta, which saw Ben Greenhalgh and Tom Sinfield finish third men’s team and fifth overall in a very competitive Eurocup fleet with 157 entries right before the worlds.

“At Kiel Week we sailed really well in the light and are pleased to have managed to get a top 5 in a challenging week,” Tom Sinfield said.

“In the worlds it was a rough start with a yellow flag and a big error on the first day but we kept our heads high and results consistent to manage to climb into the top 10, which we were overall very proud of in a windy week.”

After six days of challenging conditions, changing leaderboards and a weather-induced lay day, the 420 World Championship at Biscarrosse in south-west France saw tight battles unfolding in both the Women’s and Men’s/Mixed fleets.

In the spotlight as one of the standout stories of the championship, Neil Marsden was returning to World Championship racing at the age of 64 after many years dedicated to coaching, partnered by recent Youth Worlds gold medallist Merle Nieuwland from Cardiff Bay YC in the 147-entry Men’s/Mixed fleet.

Proving that experience and youth can be a perfect combination the pair secured sixth overall in their fleet and a bronze medal.

“It was a great week with some super tight racing and lots learnt,” Nieuwland reflected.

“Super proud to be racing at the top of the fleet and to come away as 3rd mixed team.”

Nieuwland has now moved up into the 470 Olympic class and is competing at the 470 Junior Worlds and Junior Europeans in Poland and Lithuania respectively over summer, progressing her journey in the sport representing GBR.

Image Credit: Luis Fráguas

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