Woman Wins Yachtmaster of Year Award
Emily Penn was named RYA “Yachtmaster® of the Year 2010” and was presented with her award by HRH The Princess Royal at the London International Boat Show last week. Emily was selected for the top award despite fierce competition from more than 3,200 Yachtmaster candidates worldwide who qualified last year. They were entered by RYA’s team of Yachtmaster examiners who work across the globe.
 Emily Penn, 23, of Penarth, Wales, U.K. is seen here at the helm of Earthrace aboard which she crewed on its record-setting power voyage around the world in 2009. |
The RYA “Yachtmaster of the Year” trophy is awarded to a student who has excelled in their practical Yachtmaster exam during the year. The winner of the award must possess outstanding skills and knowledge as a skipper and will have demonstrated their expertise and experience during their exam.
Emily took her Yachtmaster exam last November, passing with flying colours. Her examiner Mike Stratton said “I found Emily was well up to the RYA Yachtmaster® Offshore standard, an extremely good sailor, a natural skipper and modest with it. It was a pleasure to examine a candidate of such a high standard.”
 Emily Penn was presented with the the RYA Yachtmaster of the Year 2010 award by Princess Anne at the London Boat Show last week. |
The RYA Yachtmaster of the Year trophy was donated by the Royal Institute of Navigation and Emily also received a lifejacket courtesy of Spinlock.
Emily said: “It’s great to have won this award. I hope it inspires more young people to get involved in sailing and realize there is no limit to what they can achieve. Powering around the world was an amazing experience. It took me to some of the most inaccessible and beautiful places but it also opened my eyes to the many environmental challenges threatening our oceans. I can’t wait to get back on the water and continue tackling these issues.”
RYA training manager Richard Falk said: “The RYA Yachtmaster qualification is highly regarded all over the world and as a consequence attracts a large number of high calibre candidates. Passing the Yachtmaster exam is an achievement in itself, to be selected as Yachtmaster of the year is a true honour and we are delighted for Emily.”
 Emily Penn was the post-race promotional tour Operations Manager for Earthrace, which broke the powerboat circumnavigation record. The vessel above after being renamed Ady Gill was sunk and now rests at the bottom of the ocean off Antarctica. |
Shortly after graduating from Cambridge in 2008 with a B.A. degree in architecture, Emily became the Operations Manager for Earthrace during its post-record promotional tour. The twin-engine powerboat that set the world circumnavigation record for a powerboat. She skippered the boat at night and docked it according to her website, in addition to performing many logistic chores.
She has recently returned from the South Atlantic Gyre where she analyzed the effect of plastic pollution on the marine ecosystem. Now with over 30,000 sea miles under her belt, Emily has joined Pangaea Exploration as Operations Manager running marine exhibitions on the 72ft steel-hulled sailing vessel.
The Yachtmaster qualification itself is highly respected across the globe, and is a great entry ticket to the marine trade. The Little Ship Club in London offers the shorebased course and has links with two sea schools offering LSC members preferential rates.