Exe Sailing Club Awarded Prestigious Royal Yachting Association's Pathway Club Status
by Mike Dixon 31 Mar 17:02 BST
31 March 2025
America's Cup and Sail GP sailor Ben Cornish, Exe SC member since childhood © Tom Hurley
The Exe Sailing Club, in Exmouth, has just been awarded British Sailing Pathway Club status by the Royal Yachting Association (RYA). One of only a few clubs in the South-West of England to have received the recognition, it rewards the club's high quality commitment to inspiring junior sailors to have fun, develop great fundamentals and embrace a lifelong love of sailing.
To further emphasise the club's success in these areas, as the recognition was announced, America's Cup and Sail GP sailor Ben Cornish was back at the club where he first started sailing as a junior, to share his success story with the current junior members.
With around 200 junior and youth members, the Exe Sailing Club has a long history of producing national and world sailing champions and GB Olympic sailors. The club is an RYA Approved Sail Training Centre, with around 200 juniors completing RYA sailing courses each year. During April - October the club provides various evening sailing activities for absolute beginners to the most competitive racers. Most weekends provide racing, training and fun sailing opportunities. Sailing skills development even continues throughout the winter, on and off the water.
Committed to offering children in the local community the chance to experience sailing, Exe Sailing Club also provides sailing opportunities for children from schools and other youth organisations in Exmouth and surrounding areas, including Exmouth Community College, the Sea Cadets and various scout groups. In 2025, it is planned for more local schools to participate in sailing at the club.
As a Pathway Club and Centre of Excellence for developing junior and youth sailing, the Exe Sailing Club will now be able to access additional support and opportunities from the RYA, for their members.
This outstanding achievement has been made possible due to the many years of dedication from parents, volunteers, and club members, whose hard work has helped create a thriving junior program. The Club welcomes new family members and those interested should contact
As Ben Cornish, who was part of GB's America's Cup Team that won the Louis Vuitton Cup in Barcelona last year to become the first British team to challenge for the America's Cup since 1964, told the current juniors; it was at the Exe Sailing Club, hearing other ex-club juniors share their success, that gave him the inspiration to focus more on trying to get to the top of sailing. With the award of Pathway Club status, looking ahead, the club is excited to see further success from its junior sailors, and hopes to inspire a new generation to embrace sailing as a lifelong passion.
Club website: exe-sailing-club.org