Cornwall’s Emily Penn, 23, has been crowned the RYA Yachtmaster of the Year 2010 by Princess Anne at the London Boat Show.

The accolade is awarded to a student that excelled in their Yachtmaster exam during the year.

Emily’s examiner, Mike Stratton, described her as ‘an extremely good sailor, a natural skipper and modest with it. It was a pleasure to examine a candidate of such a high standard.’

Emily took her exam on November 19 after being taught by Cornish Cruising in Falmouth.

She said: ‘It’s great to have won this award. I hope it inspires more young people to get involved in sailing and realise there is no limit to what they can achieve.’

After graduating university Emily managed an international environmental campaign, promoting the use of alternative fuels, while travelling around the world on the bio-fuelled Earthrace motorboat.

She has recently returned from the South Atlantic where she analysed the effect of plastic pollution on the marine ecosystem.

Now with over 30,000 sea miles under her belt, Emily has joined Pangaea Exploration as operations manager running marine exhibitions on the 72ft steel hulled sailing vessel.

She said: ‘Sailing around the world was an amazing experience. It took me to some of the most inaccessible and beautiful places but it also opened my eyes to the many environmental challenges threatening our oceans.

‘I can’t wait to get back on the water and continue tackling these issues.’

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