A group of 10 young people from our Walker Project have finished their 5 day sailing expedition! They have had to battle the wet and cold of the trip but fought through it to achieve their goals. The trip went ahead thanks to the generosity of our funders. The young people also helped with the funding of the trip, raising over £170 through offering glitter tattoos at community events.
The young people arrived in Greenock with no prior sailing experience and full of anticipation for the journey ahead. Once arriving, they met the Skipper, First mate, the 2 watch leaders and the Bosun who would be helping them on their journey. Throughout the trip the young people learnt how to use the sails, pull ropes, tie knots, steer the boat, prepare lines and they also attempted a man over exercise for in the case of an emergency. As the young people sailed they grew in confidence and found the tasks much easier to complete.
From Greenock young people visited Holy Lock, Tarbert, Campbell Town, Rhu, then finally arrived back at Greenock. The voyage also involved sailing around the Ilse of Bute and the Isle of Arran. While little progress was made on day 2 due to a change in weather, young people changed course to Tarbert where they spent the night and treated themselves to a warm shower on land.
Once returning back to Greenock, the young people were awarded their ‘Start Yachting’ certificates. Throughout the trip they learnt many new and exciting skills and practised true teamwork, resilience and use of initiative. After returning from the trip, we asked the young people a few questions and this is what they had to say in response:
What will you remember the most about the trip?
“The knots we learnt and the funny moments and the laughs we had”
“Everyone getting soaked when the waves came over the boat”
“Getting a bed time story every night”
What would you change?
“Less people on the boat as it feels crowded by the end of the 5 days”
“Me not being sea sick”
“Bring warmer clothes”
How would you persuade someone else to try sailing?
“It’s a great way of building team skills and building relationships”
“Good to make new friends and get along with everyone and get to know others better”
“It’s a really good experience and I would go again”
