Young carers set sail on an adventure thanks to the International Association of Cape Horners
TEN young people from Devon benefitted from a five-day voyage from Portsmouth to Brixham onboard an iconic 72ft Challenger yacht with Tall Ships Youth Trust (TSYT), thanks to support from the International Association of Cape Horners (IACH).
The young people, made up of five boys and five girls, were young adult carers aged 16-25, from two Devon organisations, Torbay Young Adult Carers and Improving Lives Plymouth.
TSYT is the UK’s oldest and largest youth development sail training charity and has a particular focus on working with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, with 75 per cent of its beneficiaries facing some form of disadvantage.
The young people’s adventure onboard TSYT’s Challenger 3, which is famous for having sailed twice round the world as part of the Global Challenge Races, finished in Brixham on Friday 2 September. They were met by Peter Waring and members from the IACH, which donated £3,000 in support of their voyage.
Ruth (18), who was part of the crew, said:
“At the start of the week I didn’t know many people onboard but as the week went on, we all got to know each other well and I now have 10 new friends.
“The voyage was an opportunity for me to get some respite from my caring role. Having something different to think about and focus on has been really good for me.”
Torbay Young Adult Carers provides a range of support for carers aged 16-25, who care for, or help support someone who has a long-term illness, disability, frailty, mental ill-health, and drug or alcohol issue.
David Baker, from Torbay Young Adult Carers, said:
“We’ve been supported by TSYT for a number of years and throughout this time we’ve sent around 80 young adult carers on an adventure they will remember forever.
“For many, the opportunity has pushed them to develop new skills and helped them gain confidence to try new things.
Improving Lives Plymouth runs a supportive network for young adult carers to socialise with others and access free support as part of its wider advice and information service to local people.
Nicolle Ormston, from Improving Lives Plymouth, said:
“This was such a fantastic opportunity for our young adult carers to experience something new and out of the ordinary.
“Their caring roles often mean they don’t get much leisure time, so the voyage has been a much-needed break for them, allowing them to mix with people their own age and not think about what’s going on at home.
“We’d like to say a huge thank you to the IACH, because without them, this simply wouldn’t have been possible.”
The IACH is an association for seafarers who have rounded Cape Horn, also known as the ‘Mount Everest of the seas’, under sail on a non-stop passage of more than 3,000 nautical miles.
The IACH used the youngsters’ homecoming to launch its bursary fund to enable even more young people to benefit from a youth development opportunity with TSYT.
Peter Waring, IACH Bursary Project Leader, said:
“The IACH bursary project group was delighted with the positive responses received from the young adult carers following their voyage.
“This was our first sponsored event to mark the launch of our new IACH bursary scheme. The scheme aims to encourage additional funding to enable future young people to achieve further skills and personal confidence, through the challenge of sailing onboard a large offshore yacht with other young people they may not have met before.”
For further information on how you can support the IACH bursary scheme through either a donation or by being part of its development group, please contact Peter via email: events@capehorners.org or call him on: 01548 531295 or 07769646905.