Bethany (21) “The voyage has been the highlight of my year by far. I’ve had a lot of hardship recently and it’s been great to get away from it all. I come from a background where I thought I’d never have an opportunity like this. After the voyage I’m feeling a lot more confident about life in general and I feel much happier than I did at the start of the week.”
Tall Ships Youth Trust (TSYT) is a national youth development and outdoor learning charity that supports young people, particularly those facing disadvantage, to develop essential life skills and broaden their opportunities. Our vision is of a society where all young people strive to create better outcomes for themselves and for their communities.
We achieve this via our three-voyage programme of Exploration, Empowerment and Leadership. This innovative approach combines outdoor learning in an ocean environment, with personal and social development, and practical life skills through a series of increasingly longer and more challenging residential voyages. It has been specifically designed to support young people on their journey to adulthood, by equipping them with life and employability skills which will sustain them throughout their lives. Our programme offers clear pathways for progression, including engagement and work experience opportunities with relevant maritime organisations.
Our Why
The young people we support come from across the UK and are facing adversity in their daily lives. These challenges can stem from their personal situations, experiences, or unmet additional needs. Since Covid, people are more aware of the difficulties many face, as more young people struggle with their mental and physical health, neurodiversity, barriers to learning, as well as aspects of geographical, economic and social disadvantage.
Young people need chances to thrive, when they have this, it can be life changing. Without it, they can feel they are being defined only by their circumstances which can leave them feeling disaffected, socially isolated, with low self-esteem and a lack of aspirations. Being financially disadvantaged is a barrier to health and wellbeing and one of the main drivers of emotional challenges.
Our work directly addresses these diverse challenges by extending support and fostering pathways for young people.
Our Impact
In 2023, utilising our fleet of four 72ft Challenger yachts, we were able to support more than 1,200 young people, 80% of whom were experiencing disadvantage, or are living with disabilities; 88% had also never sailed before; 40% were female; and 25% identified as belonging to the global majority.
The benefits of sailing with TSYT are proven and long-lasting. Our intention is for our young people who complete the three-voyage programme to emerge as future leaders, and mature and responsible contributors to society. For those who want it, our work can lead to a career in the maritime sector and blue economy. This is through our own internal pathways which offers our young people the opportunity to develop into paid voyage crew positions at TSYT.
Highlights from our 4-night Exploration voyages in 2023 include:
- 93% reported improved confidence as a result of their voyage
- 90% of young people said they had gained new skills that they can build into daily life.
- 80% said they felt more confident in asking for help.
- 83% of our young people last year gained a Royal Yachting Association certificate.
“The support offered from the TSYT staff towards our often-challenging young people has been phenomenal and the crew and young people have relished the challenge of every week. The ethos of ‘Sea Beyond your Horizon’ is certainly prevalent in every voyage with you and our school is often filled with chatter about the experiences that they have had. I would say for some, these weeks have been life changing.”
Gemma Hobson, Limes College – Pupil Referral Unit in Sutton, Surrey
How you can support
- Sponsor a young person’s first Exploration voyage and pathway for £1020 or a whole group (12) voyage for £10,000.
- Support our industry engagement pathway programme; help us facilitate access to career open days, training and internships for our young crews.
- Book a corporate connection day sail and help fund a young person’s voyage place in the process as having a fantastic, tailored team building day on the water.
- Volunteer your time as sailing staff, help maintain our boats or support our youth mentoring.
With your help we can support many more young people to develop the skills they need to thrive, and access maritime and blue economy career opportunities.
