Board Leader

Champion windsurfer Sarah Jackson from Over Peover, near Knutsford, is riding the crest of a wave.

- Emma Mayoh

Sarah Jackson had it all worked out. While the ambitions of small children tend to fall somewhere between teacher, astronaut or nurse; she was different – she wanted to be a windsurfer. It was on holiday in Menorca, aged just seven, she made the decision. She had her first taste for the thrill after begging parents Tim and Angela for a try.

‘My mum and dad wanted us to go dinghy sailing but I thought it looked boring,’ recalled Sarah, who grew up just south of Knutsford in Over Peover. ‘I remember seeing a windsurfer and it looked so much more fun. I wouldn’t let it go, even though my parents said I was too young.

‘I got my way and what a thrill. The bay was full of jellyfish so I was scared to fall in, but that probably kept me on my board. It was the first sport I was better at than my brother Andrew, too, which at seven was another reason to love it.’

Those first tentative moments on the board turned into a life-long passion. While her friends were playing, she was more interested in being on the water at Astbury Mere. From age 10, in her final year of primary school, she competed for the Royal Yacht Association’s North Zone Squad before graduating to the British Junior Squad three years later. She was one of the youngest on the team.