A TEENAGER who volunteers as an assistant instructor at Neyland Yacht Club has been recognised for her contribution with an RYA Cymru Wales Impact Award.
The awards are made by boating’s governing body in Wales to celebrate those who go above and beyond to help people enjoy getting on the water.
Keira Edwards, aged 15, was nominated in recognition of the time she gives supporting other junior sailors at Neyland Yacht Club.
The family-friendly club is an RYA Recognised Training Centre offering training, racing and cruising for all ages, with Keira providing a role model for young sailors coming up through its vibrant and growing junior section.
Keira first started to learn the ropes after a taster session when she was just eight years old and RYA (Royal Yachting Association) Level 1&2 certificates quickly followed, plus Levels 3&4 with Pembrokeshire Powerboating and Sailing Academy.
She then became a member of Neyland Yacht Club and has been developing her skills there ever since, including racing and gaining instructor qualifications.
Having started to help out with junior sessions after the pandemic lockdowns, Keira now has RYA Powerboat, First Aid and Assistant Instructor certificates and hopes to become an RYA Dinghy Instructor when she turns 16 this summer.
Keira is a pupil at Ysgol Penrhyn Dewi in St David’s, which is also the former school of her role model, Welsh sailor and Paris 2024 Olympian Mickey Beckett, enabling her to meet him when he’s visited to share his journey with pupils.
Commenting on her Impact Award, Keira said: “I really enjoy teaching sailing because it’s quite fun and it’s rewarding to see the children at the club learning and trying out the different skills. I just like to help people get on the water because I enjoy sailing and I want other people to enjoy it as well.”
Even though Keira has Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and needs painkillers to manage the condition, she races all year round and through the depths of winter.
Keira competed in Neyland Yacht Club’s Frostbite Series with fellow club member Simon Turnbull in the doublehanded 29er class, and demonstrated winning ways in Pembrokeshire Yacht Club’s 2024 series in the singlehanded ILCA 6 class despite being the most junior in her fleet.
She has also done a ‘Try Dive’ with Pembrokeshire Sub Aqua and supported their safety boat courses, including volunteering to be ‘rescued’ from the water during practice drills.
Commodore Lloyd Hamilton MBE said: “Keira has been actively volunteering at Neyland Yacht Club and has taken on the role of Assistant Instructor. She teaches both children and adults, sharing the skills she has learned over the years.
“Keira is a highly talented and dedicated young individual, always the first to offer her help to anyone in the club. Additionally, she is set to complete her dinghy instructor course soon, further enhancing her ability to contribute to the club.
“Volunteers like Keira are crucial to the yacht club, as they ensure that more people have the opportunity to experience sailing. Their dedication and commitment help keep the club vibrant and accessible to the community.”
RYA Cymru Wales Impact Awards recognise those who go the extra mile to inspire people to enjoy watersports in line with its strategy – Together on our Waters – to create a connected, inspired and inclusive Welsh sailing and boating community.
Club Development Officer Hester Walker, who remembers inviting Keira to try sailing for the first time at a taster session for school children, said her subsequent passion for the sport reflected the RYA Cymru Wales strategic ethos of ‘Croeso’ – welcoming people to get on the water, stay on the water and give back.
Hester said: “We are so proud of Keira. She started out aged eight with no previous experience of sailing with a taster session as part of our All Afloat programme, which provides boating opportunities to young people in Wales, and she has gone from strength to strength. Keira has a real passion for the sport and is an excellent and relatable role model who inspires the next generation.”
Find out more about opportunities to get on the water with Neyland Yacht Club – including with its junior section which restarted for the season last Tuesday (April 15) – or explore how to begin sailing at the RYA website.
