For 4 days between 29th May and 2nd June, young people got the chance to sail, keep watch, help to navigate and cook aboard the 30-metre vessel Prolific. The group joined the boat in Southampton on Wednesday and sailed to Cowes on the first night. The next day, they sailed to Studland Bay and anchored with time to enjoy fishing over the side. Friday was another sail to Weymouth for the beach and ice cream, and Saturday was a long passage back to the Solent where they moored up for the night outside Yarmouth. They even spotted dolphins along the way! The voyage finished in Southampton on Sunday after 151 nautical miles.
The Voyage was a success and eight of the eleven participants also earned Royal Yachting Association Start Yachting certificates - this award is a recognised qualification which young people can keep in their Record of Achievement. It shows that they mastered some basic sailing skills but also demonstrates they were able to listen and concentrate, persevere when things got tough, cope with living in an entirely unfamiliar situation, take responsibility when asked, and much much more.
They should all be proud of themselves for doing so well.
posted by Mark Butcher