TWO instructors from Dovey Yacht Club have been honoured with RYA Cymru Wales Impact Awards after creating an inspiring pathway of watersports opportunities for all ages.
Kate and Dan Stevens have been sharing their expertise to run training at the club alongside sessions for social sailing, children and young people.
The pair first met when working for The Outward Bound Trust centre in Dovey and are both RYA (Royal Yachting Association) senior dinghy and powerboat instructors.
Passionate about helping others to enjoy getting on the water, they were nominated for the awards by fellow instructor Tom Coombe.
Tom said: “Kate has recently been the driving force of youth development at the club.
“She has sourced funding and organised sessions for local families and created a positive atmosphere at the club for young people.
“Along with Dan, they have also introduced the Windy Club on Thursday evenings to encourage all wind activities, providing a place to practise under the supervision of a safety team.”
The Windy Club is now in its fourth year and attracts up to 20 people of all ages, providing a supportive, safe and fun environment for watersports ranging from sailing and paddleboarding to kiting, winging and windsurfing.
Dan, who is a commercial skipper and the club’s chief powerboat instructor, said: “It gets more people on the water and we enjoy a catch up afterwards, so the bar is open, you can bring your own food or get a takeaway, and there’s a great social scene.
“It also bridges the gap between training and racing and builds confidence for those who’ve just learnt to sail.
“It gives people who’ve done powerboat or safety boat qualifications additional hands-on time to practise their skills while helping out, while for youngsters it’s an opportunity to volunteer on the way to themselves becoming instructors. It’s a good learning zone.”
The club is an RYA Recognised Training Centre and has attracted grant funding from a variety of organisations – including Sport Wales and Aberdyfi Advertising & Improvements committee - to help it reach out to the community and schools. The club also has its own Youth Fund to create opportunities for young people.
Activities range from a Mini Mariners group offering fun onshore activities through the winter for the club’s youngest members to a newly launched youth racing squad.
A ‘Summer of Sailing’ programme offers eight learn-to-sail Saturday sessions for children, who are then able to join the club’s Storm Chasers, named after the breezy season when the group was launched three years ago with local school children.
Kate, who is Dovey Yacht Club’s chief sailing instructor, said: “The children who have joined Storm Chasers are phenomenal and some are now stepping up into racing, while others are enjoying social sailing.
“When I was young, I went to a similar project and that was just so fantastic for me, so I wanted to get involved. I look back to the people who gave their time back then for young people and it’s about carrying that on and ‘giving back’ to share the love of it with others.
“We want to break down barriers to getting on the water by working with families and schools, and importantly a lot of feedback from parents has also been to say thank you for giving children an insight into water, tides and how to be safe.”