Two of Britain's brightest sailing names are making time for the next generation this afternoon at North Sails Cowes Week, with a pair of meet-up sessions designed to put young sailors face to face with the people they might one day be racing alongside.
Ben Cornish, one of two principal helms for America's Cup Challenge GB1 alongside Dylan Fletcher, will be signing autographs at Cowes Yacht Haven from 4pm in the GB1 Fanzone. A veteran of two previous America's Cup campaigns, Cornish is exactly the kind of figure young sailors want a selfie with.
Katy Jenkins is the afternoon's other drawcard, appearing in a Q&A session in the Youth Squad Zone on the parade.
A two-times Waszp Ladies National champion, Jenkins is one of Britain's rising young high-performance sailors and part of the Athena Pathway programme led by Hannah Mills OBE and Sir Ben Ainslie. Through Athena, she is progressing through the British Olympic and professional foiling pathways. The Q&A is a chance to hear directly from Jenkins about her training, her fellow Athena participants, and the goals they're working toward.
Both sessions are timed to catch young sailors crewing in the racing once they're back on the dock. North Sails Cowes Week runs through to Friday 7 August.
