Wednesday Junior Sailing youngsters’ heartfelt message to Princess Anne after she misses celebrations at Royal Lymington Yacht Club
YOUNG sailors sent a ‘get well soon’ message to Princess Anne after an accident meant she could not attend celebrations at Royal Lymington Yacht Club this week.
The Princess Royal had been due to join celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of the club’s Wednesday Junior Sailing scheme. However, following an accident at Gatcombe Park estate on Sunday, the Princess Royal was taken to hospital and is now recovering.
Launched by local doctors Jonathan Rogers and Tom McEwen in 1984, the Wednesday Junior Sailing scheme started with 15 local schoolchildren, a couple of Scow dinghies, a Wayfarer, a 420 and some wooden Optimists loaned by the Royal Lymington Yacht Club.
Forty years on, more than 10,000 local children have learnt to sail, row, and enjoy fun on the water, paying just £1 to cover a hot chocolate and a doughnut at the end of the sailing session.
The yacht club makes no charge for teaching and ensures the boats are all maintained and looked after. The programme is also supported by Lymington Yacht Haven and runs for two sessions each Wednesday from April to September.
Past graduates of the WJS scheme include Vita Heathcote, who will be representing Team GB at the Paris Olympics; India Syms, who recently completed the 2023/2024 Ocean Globe Race; Hattie Rogers, part of the America’s Cup Athena Pathway; Annabel Vines, a member of the British Youth Sailing team and female 29er National Champion, and Hannah Snellgrove representing Team GB at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games starting next month.
RLymYC chief instructor Richard Mills said: “We offer a range of activities to local children of all backgrounds and abilities. So many children enjoy the social interaction of learning to sail and having fun on the water.
“We are indebted to our volunteers who give generously of their time, energy, and commitment.”
Club Commodore Michael Derrick added: “Our local community initiative has produced thousands of competent sailors and individuals who have gone onto marine or sailing careers.
“This includes a crop of highly talented sailors to the point where Olympians are home-grown in Lymington.
“Countless volunteers still contribute in so many ways to ensure our WJS scheme continues to thrive.”
Speaking from an Olympic training camp in Marseille, France, Vita Heathcote said: “The Olympics was something I never even thought about as a young sailor but, as success came, the Paris Olympic dream winked at me becoming more and more real. Teamwork is one of the first things I learnt in the early days of sailing at WJS.”
