Harry White (sailor)

Harry White, (born 27 February 2000) is a British competitive sailor. His greatest success came after being named British Young Sailor of the Year 2022., along with his brothers Charlie & Thomas White (

), for their outstanding performance winning both the Musto Young Skipper & Under 25 Team Trophies at Cowes Week in 2022, racing their Squib (keelboat) Kestrel (835).

He also held the World Record for the Greatest distance sailed in a single-handed dinghy in 12 hours back in 2021, completing 107.64 km (66.9 miles) sailed on The Solent. In fall of 2023, the record was broken by Thomas McEvoy from Mooloolaba, Australia as he sailed 125.60 km on the 17th of May

Early life
Harry was born in the London Borough of Camden as the youngest sibling after his brothers Thomas & Charlie. They were brought up on the Isle of Wight attending various public island schools throughout their education. He first joined the local Royal Victoria Yacht Club (England) back in 2008, where he started his official sailing journey at the age of eight. In 2021, he graduated from the University of Portsmouth in Geography BSc achieving First Class Honors.

Early Years of Sailing
After joining the Royal Victoria Yacht Club (RVYC) he began training in the Optimist where he progressed his basic skills learning the fundamentals of sailing and later on racing. Progression was swift as he started racing just two years later in 2010, entering at club level. In the following years he proceeded to race at the national level but only placing as high as 11th out of 78 in the South Coast Championships in 2011, hosted at the Royal Lymington Yacht Club. Later that year, he joined sailors from the RVYC and Brading Haven Yacht Club (to represent Team Isle of Wight) in Southampton to challenge for the RYA OnBoard Title Champion of Champions event, where they won, beating Team Hampshire. While in the Optimist, he found great success at the local level claiming many local regatta and club titles but it wouldn't be until his progression to the ILCA, formally known as the Laser, where he'd prove his ability.

In 2015, he stepped into the Laser winning the South Coast Championships in the smaller 4.7 rig (known today as the ILCA 4). Similarly to his Optimist he continued to achieve local titles at club and regatta level. 2018 and 2019 saw him compete at multiple UK World & European Qualifier events, though a string of bad luck with broken masts and kit malfunctions prevented any further progression steps in the ILCA class until later years.

The RVYC boasted a competitive double-handed keelboat fleet, in the National Squib class. Keen members of the club provided Harry and his brothers with the opportunity to sail in the class starting in 2014 and develop on a different type of sailing compared to dinghies. With practice and the generosity of the National Squib class, Harry and his brothers were able to compete at events including the prestigious Cowes Week, Nationals, Inlands and South Coast Championship events.

Island Games
After his junior progression in the Optimist and Laser, he set his sights on competing at the Island Games, which is a biennial multi sport event consisting of competitors from 24 islands or island groups around the world. Harry was selected to represent Team Isle of Wight at the 2019 Island Games in the Laser Radial (ILCA 6). Team Isle of Wight finished 7th in the team standings and Harry ended the regatta in 10th individually.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Guernsey Island Games were postponed until 2023. In this time, Harry moved from the ILCA 6 to the ILCA 7 rig. Once again he was selected to represent Team Isle of Wight. This time round saw the Isle of Wight sailors net consistent results across both fleets securing Team Silver medals. Individually, he placed 6th in the ILCA 7 individual rankings. This marked the first Isle of Wight sailing team medal since the 2015 Island Games in Jersey, which previously saw Team Isle of Wight take Silver.

Sailing Achievements
Post COVID-19 pandemic proved to be a turning point for Harry as he gained better and more consistent results at various sailing regattas and events in addition to breaking a Guinness World Record.

World Record
On the 7th of September 2021, Harry set sail from the RVYC with the task of breaking the world record for The greatest distance sailed in a single-handed dinghy in 12 hours. The Solent proved to be a reliable stretch of water to attempt such a challenge. With the assistance of a safety rib, he was able to beat the record setting the new mark to 107.64 km. In fall of 2023, the record was broken by Thomas McEvoy from Mooloolaba, Australia as he sailed 125.60 km on the 17th of May. Harry has since stated that he would be eager to attempt reclaiming his record.

Cowes Week & British Young Sailors of the Year
Cowes Week has proved to be a regatta where Harry and his brothers Thomas & Charlie have shone in the National Squib class. First competing in Cowes Week and Cowes Classics Week back in 2015 using an RVYC owned Squib, Alice (777). Over the seasons, Harry and his brothers improved on their setup and competitiveness. After taking ownership of their Squib, Kestrel (835) the brothers proceeded to compete at the front of the fleet, assisted by their in-depth knowledge of the local Solent area. In 2022, they became the first team to win both the Musto Young Skippers Trophy and the Under 25 Team Trophy. This historic achievement led them to be nominated and subsequently crowned British Young Sailors of the Year 2022 at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in Knightsbridge. This was also the first time any set of triplets had won such a prestigious award in British sailing history.

Following on from his success at Cowes Week back in 2022, Harry and his brothers raced in defence of their titles. A windy regatta in 2023 led to a number of on the water incidents across the fleets. After a week of intense Solent racing, they became the first team in history to successfully defend the Under 25 Team Trophy sponsored by Montgomery Estate Planning. They lost their defence of the Musto Young Skippers Trophy by only 1.55 points to Palaver and finished 3rd in the Squib Class overall for a second year running. Harry and his brothers remain the most successful youth team to have ever competed in Cowes Week.

Other significant achievements

 * 1st 2011 RYA OnBoard Festival in Cowes, Isle of Wight
 * 1st 2011 RYA OnBoard Champion of Champions in Southampton, UK
 * 1st 2015 Laser South Coast Championships on the Solent, UK
 * 1st 2016 Squib Inlands Bronze Fleet Rutland, UK
 * 1st 2016 Squib Inlands Best Newcomer Rutland, UK
 * 2nd 2016 Laser Match Racing at RSYC
 * 8th 2018 RORC Cherbourg Race from Cowes to Cherbourg
 * 10th 2019 International Island Games ILCA 6 Individual in Gibraltar
 * 7th 2019 International Island Games Team Event in Gibraltar
 * 1st 2021 Cowes Week Squib Class in Cowes, Isle of Wight
 * 1st 2021 Evening Class 1 Season at ISC
 * 1st 2022 Mermaid Gin Regatta at BHYC
 * 3rd 2022 X-Yacht Solent Cup at RSYC
 * 1st 2022 Icebreaker Series Fast Division at BHYC
 * 1st 2022 Spring Class 1 at ECSC
 * 1st 2022 Platinum Jubilee Regatta at the RVYC
 * 1st 2022 Evening Class 1 Season at ISC
 * 1st 2022 Autumn Series Fast Division at the RVYC
 * 3rd 2022 Cowes Week Squib Class in Cowes, Isle of Wight
 * 1st 2022 Cowes Week Under 25 Team Trophy in Cowes, Isle of Wight
 * 1st 2022 Cowes Week Musto Young Skipper Trophy in Cowes, Isle of Wight
 * 2nd 2023 Frostbite Series Fast Division at the RVYC
 * 1st 2023 Commissioning Cup at the RVYC
 * 2nd 2023 Creek Race at the RVYC
 * 1st 2023 Autumn Series Fast Division at the RVYC
 * 3rd 2023 Icebreaker Series Fast Division at BHYC
 * 1st 2023 Mermaid Gin Regatta at BHYC
 * 1st 2023 Mermaid Match Racing at SVYC
 * 1st 2023 Evening Class 1 Season at ISC
 * 1st 2023 Spring Class 1 at ECSC
 * 3rd 2023 Mid Summer Class 1 at ECSC
 * 1st 2023 Late Summer Class 1 at ECSC
 * 1st 2023 Season Overall Class 1 at ECSC
 * 3rd 2023 Carr Cup Seaview Village Regatta at SVYC
 * 1st 2023 Sommers Trophy Pursuit Race at SVYC
 * 1st 2023 Mermaid Team Racing at SVYC
 * 1st 2023 Seaview Squib Regatta at SVYC
 * 1st 2023 Bembridge Squib Regatta at BSC
 * 4th 2023 ISC Round the Island Race Division 5B
 * 1st 2023 Under 25 Squib Nationals at WSC
 * 3rd 2023 Cowes Week Squib Class in Cowes, Isle of Wight
 * 1st 2023 Cowes Week Under 25 Team Trophy in Cowes, Isle of Wight
 * 3rd 2023 Cowes Week Musto Young Skipper Trophy in Cowes, Isle of Wight
 * 2nd 2023 International Island Games Sailing Team Event in Guernsey
 * 6th 2023 International Island Games Sailing Individual Event in Guernsey