Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2017 | Page 45

Interview
“Despite living on
an island, there are
actually many young
people who will not
have the chance
to experience the
challenge and fun of
watersports. ”
Land-locked childhood
Ben’s own initiation into sailing came
via his father. Despite the fact that the
Willows family lived in the Midlands – as
Ben jokes, “just about as far from the
water as you can get!” - his father Richard
was always a passionate sailor who
encouraged him in sailing dinghies and
small boats while he was still a child.
“It was pretty clear from a young age that
I didn’t want to go down the academic
route” he says, “I just wanted to do as much
sailing as possible”. Not surprisingly, he
became an instructor at the age of 20.
He also worked on board various high
profile yachts before joining UKSA as
a professional coach in 2001, and has
been with the organisation ever since,
including overseas spells in Australia and
the Caribbean.
Prior to taking on the role of Chief
Executive in 2016, he was Deputy Chief
Executive and before that, Director of
Operations - which has given him a huge
breadth of knowledge, as well as an
abiding passion for the work that UKSA
does.
Still in his 30s, and so relatively young
to have attained the lofty heights of a
CEO, Ben points out: “We are very much
a youth organisation, specialising in
under-25s, who make up 80% of our
students. However, we welcome a large
number of adults through our doors who
are seeking a fresh challenge and perhaps
even a career change, thanks to one of
our professional training courses”.
He combines his executive duties with
time on the water, where he continues
to coach and instruct pupils – and not
surprisingly, much of his free time is also
spent on boats of one kind or another.
In particular, he still pits himself against
his dad – now retired to the West Country
but still an active sailor – and takes his
own children, Taylor aged eight and
four year-old Harriet out on the water
near their Gurnard home “to get them
enthused and give them confidence”.
As he says: “We’re very fortunate to live
on this beautiful island, surrounded by
water, and it seems natural for people
to find ways to engage with the sea –
whether that’s just splashing about,
paddle boarding or competitive sailing”.
Ben agrees that there’s a common mis-
perception that sailing and other water
sports are difficult or expensive to get
into, and are only for a select few.
“Sailing doesn’t need to be an expensive
sport” he says, “and that’s part of what our
role is about – breaking down the barriers
and showing people that it can be for
everyone, not just the rich and famous”.
Sailing into the future
A 30th birthday is always a good point
to take stock and re-group – and that
is exactly what UKSA is doing in this its
special anniversary year.
The organisation is developing
plans to improve the existing 270-bed
residential facility with state-of-the-art
accommodation that will take it forward
into the next 30 years. By upgrading the
UKSA site into modular accommodation,
they will have the flexibility to train more
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