Team Morvoren

Team Morvoren is making waves for women. We are a Cornwall based women's keelboat racing team with international championship experience.

Your donations support our fleet of two J24 keelboats, covering maintenance, event and racing fees, travel and accommodation, and equipment costs. We are able to get at least six women out on the water every week for casual racing during the summer season and hope to grow this number through additional training opportunities. We also take at least one team to compete in class regattas throughout the season. In 2025, this will culminate in the J24 World Championships being held in Plymouth.

In 2019, a World Sailing survey found that 59% of women have experienced some form of discrimination in the sport. While our team has received incredible support from our community, we've all had experiences which anecdotally support this statistic that over half of women who sail face barriers to their participation.

A lack of participation fuels a lack of representation which supports a negative feedback loop. Misconceptions around women's skills, strength, and ability to sail further this impact. And lack of support which addresses the complexities of childcare, finances, and appropriate training make it even harder for women to access sailing.

Our goal is to get more women out on the water in a safe, confidence building boat and community. We have found that confidence is one of the biggest factors preventing our team members from learning to sail or reintroducing them to sailing.

Sailing isn't just a great form of exercise and exhilarating competition. It's also a fantastic way to learn leadership, teamwork, and communication skills. Alongside the physical benefits, being out on the water has proven positive impacts on mental wellbeing. This creates a knock on effect for developing an emotional connection to the ocean, and supporting marine conservation and protection activities as well. We're hoping that as the team grows we will also be able to expose young women and girls to a variety of marine and maritime careers, supporting industry as well as water sport recreation. This exposure is especially important for tackling the major crises facing our planet as women are over 2 times as likely to engage on climate issues, and 60% more likely to advocate for social good.

Morvoren is the Cornish for mermaid. In folklore, mermaids are mysterious and powerful, often bringing about lively weather events when crossed by locals, usually men. We of course aren’t of folklore, but sailing still has gender imbalance and discrimination issues.

Within the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park, Saltash Sailing Club’s members are eager to learn more and support the health of their marine environment. This aligns with results of an extensive UK government survey showing that most of the public (80%) see ocean protection as vital. Through talks, workshops, and activities, we support the Club’s members in this endeavour as well.