Cornish sailing school wins major tourism award

Mylor Sailing & Powerboat School and its charitable arm Mylor Sailability have struck gold in the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence.

The Cornish-based school is run by Tracy Boyne and provides training for keelboats, sailing dinghies and a variety of powerboats including accessible and adapted boats.

Beating out competition including the Alton Towers theme park, Mylor Yacht Harbour won gold for the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism award.

“Tracey’s sailing school on Admiralty Quay and the associated charity she founded have been integral members of the Mylor Yacht Harbour community for nearly 20 years,” says Mylor Yacht Harbour MD Neil Salter. “We’re honoured to have been able to support the school’s growth and expansion into a truly inclusive set of waterborne experiences for people of all ages and abilities.

“Mylor is a jewel of a harbour with a wide range of services and facilities and Tracey’s sailing school plays a very important role in making boating available to everyone.”

The Mylor Sailing School operates alongside Mylor’s marina, full-service boat yard and chandlery, near Falmouth.

“We are so lucky to have our home base at Mylor Yacht Harbour on one of the most beautiful and safe stretches of water anywhere in the world,” says Tracey. “But as an inclusive sailing and boating academy we never stand still and we’re always looking at ways to stretch further into our communities — which is why it is fantastic for our team to be recognised at the highest level.

“We went through a slew of very rigorous assessments through the Cornwall and South West stages of the awards – and to pip Alton Towers in the nationals for Accessible and Inclusive Tourism is quite amazing… they were lovely afterwards and have asked us for tips!”

Boyne is currently focused on developing more accessible sessions and increasing the number of private weekly sessions for a racing team and for groups with specific conditions including Parkinson’s, dementia, and MS – as well as the Good Day Promise project that offers free sessions for people with terminal illness.