RYA
Julie Walker to Chair RYA Scotland: From Day Skipper to Round the World
Publié · Dernière vérification octobre 2026
Julie Walker will take over as Chair of the RYA Scotland Board at the organisation's AGM on 5 November 2026, succeeding Brian Wilson, who has led the board for six years. She learned to sail as an adult, took her RYA courses in a three-month break between jobs, and went on to race round the world.
A late start, then a big leap
Walker grew up by the sea in Irvine but sailing wasn't part of family life: she figure-skated as a teenager, then played volleyball and golf. A career that took her to Frankfurt, Washington DC, Stockholm, New York and Hong Kong also brought her first time on the water, in Hong Kong.
During a three-month UK break between projects she worked through Competent Crew, Day Skipper and Coastal Skipper in Hamble. That's the classic RYA ladder many readers here are climbing. Then she joined the Millennium Round the World Yacht Race in Australia, sailing via Cairns, Darwin, Christmas Island and Mauritius, and rejoined for the final leg to Portsmouth.
Her strongest memory is Christmas Island, where locals opened the school gym and brought sewing machines so visiting crews could repair their sails.
Her priorities for Scottish sailing
- Listen first: visit clubs and hear from staff, volunteers and participants.
- Build links across the wider sporting system.
- Lead collaboratively, with transparency and trust.
- Encourage new ideas so clubs and coaches feel confident to try things.
"With every sport in every club, there is passion," she said. "And that passion is what drives the club."
What does RYA Scotland do?
RYA Scotland is the national governing body for sailing, windsurfing, powerboating and motor cruising in Scotland, part of the wider Royal Yachting Association. It supports more than 80 affiliated clubs and training centres, runs coaching and racing pathways, and works with government on access, safety and the environment, from the Firth of Clyde to Orkney and Shetland.
The RYA ladder she climbed
| Course | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Competent Crew | Hands-on crewing: steering, sail handling, ropework, safety |
| Day Skipper | Skippering a yacht on short coastal passages in familiar waters |
| Coastal Skipper | Skippering longer coastal and night passages |
Doing all three back-to-back in three months is an intensive route. Most people spread the Day Skipper and Coastal Skipper courses over a few seasons, building sea time in between.
Sailing in Scotland
Scotland's west coast is among the finest cruising grounds in Europe: sheltered sea lochs, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, and strong tidal gates like the Corryvreckan and the Sound of Mull. Largs, on the Firth of Clyde, is home to one of the country's biggest marinas and a popular base for RYA courses.