Harry White (born 27 February 2000) is a British competitive sailor. His greatest success came after being named British Young Sailor of the Year 2022, along with his brothers Charlie and Thomas, for winning both the Musto Young Skipper and Under 25 Team Trophies at Cowes Week in 2022, racing their squib Kestrel (835).
He also held the world record for the greatest distance sailed in a single-handed dinghy in 12 hours in 2021, completing 107.64 km (66.9 miles) sailed on The Solent. In the fall of 2023, the record was broken by Thomas McEvoy from Mooloolaba, Australia as he sailed 125.60 km on 17 May.
In 2025, he led Team Isle of Wight at the International Island Games in Orkney, to a historic victory as the team dominated the sailing events, taking home team gold, while White also claimed an individual bronze medal in the ILCA 7 fleet. They set a new record for the lowest ever combined team score at the games and topped the Isle of Wight medal table with their record performance.
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Early life
Harry White was born in the London Borough of Camden as the youngest sibling after his brothers Thomas and Charlie. They were brought up on the Isle of Wight, attending various public island schools throughout their education.
White joined the local Royal Victoria Yacht Club in 2008, where he started his official sailing journey at the age of eight.
In 2021, he graduated from the University of Portsmouth in Geography BSc, achieving First Class Honors.
Early years of sailing
After joining the Royal Victoria Yacht Club (RVYC), White began training in the Optimist, where he progressed his basic skills learning the fundamentals of sailing, and later racing.
His progress was swift, as he started racing just two years later in 2010, entering at club level. In the following years he proceeded to race at the national level, but only placed as high as 11th out of 78 in the South Coast Championships in 2011, hosted at the Royal Lymington Yacht Club. Later that year, he joined sailors from the RVYC and Brading Haven Yacht Club (to represent Team Isle of Wight) in Southampton to challenge for the RYA OnBoard Title Champion of Champions event, where they won, beating Team Hampshire. While in the Optimist, he found great success at the local level, claiming many local regatta and club titles, but it was not until his progression to the ILCA, formally known as the Laser, that he would prove his ability.
In 2015, he stepped into the Laser, winning the South Coast Championships in the smaller 4.7 rig (known today as the ILCA 4). Similarly to his Optimist, he continued to achieve local titles at club and regatta level. 2018 and 2019 saw him compete at multiple UK World and European qualifier events, though a string of bad luck with broken masts and kit malfunctions prevented any further progress in the ILCA class until later years.
The RVYC boasted a competitive double-handed keelboat fleet, in the National Squib class. Keen members of the club provided White and his brothers with the opportunity to sail in the class starting in 2014 and develop on a different type of sailing compared to dinghies. With practice and the generosity of the National Squib class, White and his brothers were able to compete at events including the prestigious Cowes Week, Nationals, Inlands and South Coast Championship.
Island Games
Gibraltar 2019 & Guernsey 2023
After his junior progression in the Optimist and Laser, White set his sights on competing at the Island Games, which is a biennial multi-sport event consisting of competitors from 24 islands or island groups around the world. He was selected to represent Team Isle of Wight at the 2019 Island Games in the Laser Radial (ILCA 6). Team Isle of Wight finished 7th in the team standings, and White ended the regatta in 10th individually.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Guernsey Island Games were postponed until 2023. In this time, White moved from the ILCA 6 to the ILCA 7 rig. Once again he was selected to represent Team Isle of Wight. This time round saw the Isle of Wight sailors net consistent results across both fleets, securing team silver medals. Individually, he placed 6th in the ILCA 7 individual rankings. This marked the first Isle of Wight sailing team medal since the 2015 Island Games in Jersey, which previously saw Team Isle of Wight take silver.
Orkney 2025
The 2025 International Island Games were hosted in Orkney, where around 2,500 athletes from across 24 islands competed in 12 different sports. White competed in his third Games and his second time in the ILCA 7 fleet. He raced alongside island teammate Arthur Farley, a highly decorated and talented young sailor in the British Sailing Team. After the disappointment of finishing 6th in the individual standings in Guernsey, he focused on strong wind sailing performance. After 10 races were completed, the pair of Farley and White combined won every single race. Farley won the individual gold medal (9 pts), and White secured the bronze medal (38 pts) on countback over the Welsh sailor, Alistair Dickson.
As a team, they collected four medals: three gold and one bronze (ILCA 6 gold, ILCA 7 gold, team gold & ILCA 7 bronze). This performance saw the sailing team top the overall Isle of Wight medal table for the first time.
* Host nation (Orkney)
Sailing achievements
The time after the COVID-19 pandemic proved to be a turning point for White as he gained better and more consistent results at various sailing regattas and events in addition to breaking a Guinness World Record.
World record
On 7 September 2021, White set sail from the RVYC with the goal of breaking the world record for the greatest distance sailed in a single-handed dinghy in 12 hours. The Solent proved to be a reliable stretch of water to attempt such a challenge. With the assistance of a safety rib, he was able to beat the record, setting the new mark at 107.64 km. In the fall of 2023, the record was broken by Thomas McEvoy from Mooloolaba, Australia as he sailed 125.60 km on 17 May. White has stated that he would be eager to attempt reclaiming his record.
Cowes Week & British Young Sailors of the Year
Cowes Week has proved to be a regatta where White and his brothers Thomas and Charlie have shone in the National Squib class. They first competed in Cowes Week and Cowes Classics Week in 2015 using an RVYC owned Squib, Alice (777). Over the seasons, White and his brothers improved on their setup and competitiveness. After taking ownership of their Squib, Kestrel (835), the brothers proceeded to compete at the front of the fleet, assisted by their in-depth knowledge of the local Solent area. In 2022, they became the first team to win both the Musto Young Skippers Trophy and the Under 25 Team Trophy. This achievement led them to be nominated and subsequently crowned British Young Sailors of the Year 2022 at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in Knightsbridge. This was the first time any set of triplets had won such a prestigious award in British sailing history.
Following on from his success at Cowes Week in 2022, White and his brothers raced in defence of their titles. A windy regatta in 2023 led to a number of on-the-water incidents across the fleets. After a week of intense Solent racing, they became the first team in history to successfully defend the Under 25 Team Trophy sponsored by Montgomery Estate Planning. They lost their defence of the Musto Young Skippers Trophy by only 1.55 points to Palaver and finished 3rd in the Squib Class overall for a second year running. White and his brothers remain the most successful youth team to have ever competed in Cowes Week.
Other significant achievements
1st 2011 RYA OnBoard Festival in Cowes, Isle of Wight
1st 2011 RYA OnBoard Champion of Champions in Southampton, UK
1st 2015 Laser South Coast Championships on the Solent, UK
1st 2016 Squib Inlands Bronze Fleet Rutland, UK
1st 2016 Squib Inlands Best Newcomer Rutland, UK
2nd 2016 Laser Match Racing at RSYC
8th 2018 RORC Cherbourg Race from Cowes to Cherbourg
10th 2019 International Island Games ILCA 6 Individual in Gibraltar
7th 2019 International Island Games Team Event in Gibraltar
1st 2021 Cowes Week Squib Class in Cowes, Isle of Wight
1st 2021 Evening Class 1 Season at ISC
1st 2022 Mermaid Gin Regatta at BHYC
3rd 2022 X-Yacht Solent Cup at RSYC
1st 2022 Icebreaker Series Fast Division at BHYC
1st 2022 Spring Class 1 at ECSC
1st 2022 Platinum Jubilee Regatta at the RVYC
1st 2022 Evening Class 1 Season at ISC
1st 2022 Autumn Series Fast Division at the RVYC