WATCH: Young hobie racers hope to chart a course to world success

Tuesday 21 June 2022

Two young hobie racers, who first took to the seas in primary school, are hoping to sail to success as they represent Jersey on the global stage later this year.

Ollie Voak (23) and Megan Roworth (22), who are sponsored by Ports of Jersey, were awarded 6th place at the Hobie 16 British Nationals 2022 which took place earlier this month in Poole.

The duo will also be competing in the Hobie 16 World Championships held in Spain later this year. 

Ollie has been sailing for 13 years, after his sisters got him involved in the sport at the age of eight. When not sailing, he spends his time building boats or being a freelance camera operator and editor working on film and television productions.

Megan began sailing when she was 10 at St. Catherine’s sailing club and has sailed optimists, lasers and toppers. She only started sailing hobies two years ago during lockdown as a bit of fun and then loved it. Outside of sailing, she works as a physiotherapist.

The pair are both qualified sailing instructors and met while teaching children how to sail during the summer holidays.

They paired up to start hobie sailing together in August 2020.

They recently got in contact with Ports of Jersey, and have managed to secure sponsorship from the company.

Ollie spoke of how grateful the two of them were to receive this sponsorship: "We are very passionate about sailing and also want to promote how important the oceans are to everyone."

Pictured: The duo have been sailing hobies together for almost two years.

The Hobie 16 British Nationals was the first off-Island event that Ollie and Megan have competed in, and they admitted that they weren’t sure what to expect.

They said: “Being able to compete at national level was an awesome experience and one we learnt a lot from. 

“We were competing against some of the UK’s top sailors which was challenging but also an amazing experience to be able to learn from the best and hopefully become better hobie sailors.

“We had challenging conditions throughout the competition with some very heavy winds which we aren’t used to sailing in, so to still come in 6th place felt very rewarding!”

Ollie and Megan are now looking forward to the Hobie 16 World Championships, which are taking place from the 15^th to the 29^th of September this year in Costa Brava, a coastal region of Catalonia in north-eastern Spain.

Almost 500 athletes attend this event, so the pair are training hard each week in preparation.

Pictured: Ollie and Megan faced some challenging conditions at the British Nationals this month.

“We train both on the water and on land running through tactics and racing rules, as well as in the gym building our fitness levels,” they said.

“We will also be competing in different hobie races throughout the summer including the Carey Olsen Jersey Regatta, the Hobie Cat Channel Island Championships and the Summer Racing Series.”

Pictured: The pair in action at the Minquiers Cat Dash 2021, where they received 1st place overall.

They added: “We are very excited for the World Championships.

"This will be a step up in challenge for us both and we are excited to be taking part and representing Jersey, and hope to do as best we can.”