TEN young people from across the northeast of Scotland have experienced a residential sailing and development opportunity this week, onboard a 72ft Challenger yacht with Tall Ships Youth Trust (TSYT), for the sixth leg of the charity’s Round Britain Adventure.

The group of young men and women aged 16-25 are all supported by Aberdeen Foyer, a charitable organisation that supports adults and young people to understand their potential, overcome challenges, and build their own positive future.  The Foyer also provides a safe place to stay for young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

The five-night voyage set sail from Peterhead on Saturday (3^rd) and will finish in Newcastle at its North Shields’ Royal Quays Marina on Thursday (8^th). The adventure has been organised to enable the young people to take part in a once in a lifetime experience sailing onboard TSYT’s Challenger 4 — famous for having sailed twice round the world as part of the Global Challenge Races.

Leona McDermid, Chief executive from Aberdeen Foyer, said:

This is a fantastic opportunity for our young people who have experienced really tough life challenges to try something completely unique and special, whilst also gaining practical skills, building confidence and having fun.  We are extremely grateful to Tall Ships Youth Trust for working with the Foyer to make this lifechanging trip happen and supporting young people to build amazing memories.

TSYT is the UK’s oldest and largest youth development sail training charity and is delighted to be running its Round Britain Adventure tour for the first time since 2019 owing to the pandemic.

James Hudson, Director of Fundraising and Marketing at TSYT, said:

We’re delighted to be partnering with Aberdeen Foyer for these voyages, which will be an exciting and challenging opportunity for the youth crews involved.

“Working together onboard, the crew take part in all activities and pull together to overcome common challenges, such as preparing to sail in bad weather and living in close quarters. This helps develop transferrable life skills such as communication, resilience and teamwork.

Throughout the residential adventure, the young people will be doing everything from steering to food preparation, maintenance and cleaning.

Importantly, they’ll be supported by TSYT’s professionally trained crew who work with young people to increase their practical life skills as well as develop their personal and social skills.