Youth Sailor, Amelie Ballantyne, Joins Clean Sailors as Ambassador
SOUTH WEST, UK – Clean Sailors is thrilled to welcome accomplished youth sailor Amelie Ballantyne as its newest ambassador.
Amelie (14), based in the South West UK, is a passionate advocate for ocean conservation and sustainability, bringing her enthusiasm and dedication to Clean Sailors’ mission of promoting environmental responsibility within the sailing community. As an ambassador, she will work with us to inspire other sailors worldwide to adopt cleaner and more sustainable practices both on and off the water.
“I am incredibly excited to join Clean Sailors to help protect our oceans,” said Amelie Ballantyne. “Sailing has given me so much, and I believe it’s our responsibility as sailors to do everything we can to preserve the marine environment for future generations.”
“Old and unwanted kit, litter and sewage as well as disturbing marine life – observing all of this in my local waters where I sail, I recognise the crucial role we sailors have in helping to raise awareness and take responsibility for our own impact. Becoming a Clean Sailors Ambassador allows me to support such initiatives and help bring change to my local club and the classes I sail in both locally, regionally and nationally.”
Amelie began sailing on an Optimist in Lac De Lion in France. She graduated to the Topper class, where she achieved 1st female Topper sailor in the Southwest ITCA Series, in addition to sailing in national Topper events and winning several dinghy in regattas in her area. Her talent and commitment to sailing earnt her a place in the RYA Regional Training Group (RTG) on her Topper where she continues to refine her skills alongside some of the best sailors and coaches both regionally and nationally. In addition to her Topper success, Amelie has also sailed the RS Feva and RS200, and will soon be transitioning into the Laser/ILCA class. She has also spent time with the Magenta Foiling on the foiling WASZP. Amelie writes for a national sailing newspaper All At Sea as a teen columnist.
“Amelie’s enthusiasm, particularly as a young sailor, for sailing as a sport and for the priority opportunities of protecting our environment and championing female sailors, is both incredibly impressive and full of integrity.” says Holly Manvell, founder of Clean Sailors.
“I’m delighted for Amelie to join Clean Sailors and to represent all we stand for, and for us to work together in the South West – home for us both, and importantly, ocean-side!”
Amelie follows in the footsteps of other notable Clean Sailors ambassadors, including four-time Paralympian and world champion sailor, Hannah Stodel; Moth sailor and Alinghi Red Bull Youth America’s Cup Skipper - Jann Schüpbach; Dutch sailors and European Champions 2024 - Scipio Houtman and Willemijn Offerman, as well as CJ Perez - the youngest sailor ever to join the SailGP league, the first female to ever take part in a SailGP race and the first ever Latina to compete at that level.
With growing projects and network of youth ambassadors in particular, Clean Sailors continues to drive positive change in the sailing community, inspiring action for a cleaner, healthier ocean.
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ABOUT CLEAN SAILORS
Clean Sailors is a not-for-profit founded in 2020 by sailor, environmentalist and ocean appreciator, Holly Manvell. Through its projects Clean Sailors raises awareness of ocean conservation issues and opportunities within the global sailing and marine communities. In 2022, Clean Sailors partnered with Italian boatbuilder, nl comp and OneSails to launch the world’s first fully recyclable Optimist, a champion Youth Racing Team that took Silver in the 2023 69f Youth Foiling Gold Cup in Barcelona and a 5-star rated podcast featuring conversations with industry innovators, figureheads and fellow sailors engaged in building a more sustainable marine industry.
In 2021, Clean Sailors launched ReSail by Clean Sailors - a global platform connecting sailors and their spent sails with business and organisations around the world who repurpose sail textile.
The platform, which followed a successful pilot launched in the South West in 2021, allows sailors to search for and find local drop-off points and gives them the opportunity to upcycle a range of products such as sails, bags and sheets, so that once their time on the water has come to an end, they can help give them a new life and purpose.
ReSail by Clean Sailors now has 40 partners in 11 countries, giving new life to old sailing materials.