Noah Carden: St Mawes sailor wins Aero 5 Youth Worlds silver

The stretch of water Noah Carden grew up on runs from a slipway in St Mawes out into Falmouth Harbour. This month it carried him a good deal further, to a World Championship podium on the Baltic Sea. At 18, the sailor who first pushed a boat out from the Roseland has come home with a silver medal and a place among the best youth dinghy sailors in the world.

Silver on the Baltic

Noah Carden, who grew up in St Mawes and attended St Mawes and Roseland Schools, finished second in the 2026 RS Aero 5 Youth World Championships in Germany. The event was held during Travemünder Woche, and he backed up the youth result by coming 7th overall in the European adult competition.

The championship formed part of the RS Games, one of the largest celebrations of dinghy sailing anywhere. Almost 200 competitors from more than 15 nations took part, with 60 of the world’s best youth sailors filling the RS Aero Youth fleet. Over five days the racing threw everything at them, from powerful 30 knot winds and heavy waves to light, tactical conditions that tested a different kind of patience. On one of the toughest days of the week, Noah also took his first win in an international race.

📷Photo credit Miles Carden

A boat that leaves nowhere to hide

Noah sailed the RS Aero 5, a modern, lightweight single-handed racing dinghy designed and built by RS Sailing that has become one of the fastest-growing performance classes in the sport. It rewards fitness, tactical awareness and precise boat handling in equal measure, which makes a result at this level a genuine test of all-round ability. Across the week he showed the sort of consistency and speed that keeps a sailor at the front, and finished as Youth World Championship runner-up.

The setting was fitting. Travemünder Woche is one of Europe’s largest maritime festivals and among the oldest and most prestigious sailing events in the world, held each July in the German Baltic resort of Travemünde near Lübeck. First staged in 1889, it pairs elite international racing with a huge public festival, drawing hundreds of boats and thousands of competitors from across the world.

From club racing to the podium

The result continues a fast climb through the sport. Noah was crowned UK RS Aero 5 National Youth Champion in 2025, and has now gone from local club racing to standing on the podium at one of the world’s premier youth events.

Growing up beside Falmouth Harbour put him in waters that have shaped generations of talented sailors. Sheltered corners for beginners, demanding tidal conditions, open-water racing and a strong network of clubs, coaches and volunteers all sit within a few miles of each other. It is a large part of why the harbour is rated one of Britain’s best places to learn the sport.

Noah now represents Restronguet Sailing Club and is also a member of St Mawes Sailing Club, and he sailed for Great Britain in Germany. At Restronguet he follows a well-worn path. Sir Ben Ainslie learned to sail at the same club before going on to become Britain’s most decorated Olympic sailor. Noah’s career is only just starting, but a Youth World Championship silver is another sign that Falmouth Harbour keeps turning out sailors able to race the very best.

📷Photo credit Digital Sailing.

In his own words

Noah Carden said: “It’s been an incredible week of racing against some of the best young and adult sailors in the world. The conditions tested everyone including me, and I’m really proud to come away with a silver medal. I learned so much, and it’s all thanks to the support I’ve had from my family, coaches, Restronguet and St Mawes Sailing Club and everyone back home in St Mawes who helped me get to this point.

“Growing up sailing in St Mawes and Falmouth Harbour gave me an amazing place to learn. To go from sailing around Falmouth Harbour to stand on a World Championship podium is pretty special. Hopefully it shows other young sailors in Cornwall what’s possible with hard work and plenty of time on the water.”

Robin Laney, Commodore of Restronguet Sailing Club, said: “Everyone at Restronguet Sailing Club is incredibly proud of Noah’s achievement. To become Youth World Championship silver medallist against such a strong international fleet is a remarkable accomplishment and reflects not only his exceptional talent and determination, but also years of dedication on and off the water.

“We hope his success inspires many more young people to get involved in sailing and shows the remarkable opportunities that learning to sail on the waters of the Falmouth Harbour can provide.”

For a local youngster from St Mawes, competing with and beating many of the world’s best young sailors marks the start of something. The family, fellow sailors, volunteers and coaches who got him to the Baltic will already be wondering how far the next few years take him.

📷Noah Carden - gaining his first win in an international race. Photo credit Digital Sailing.