TYST: About Us

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.  

Celebrating Success: Spinnaker’s 2024 Highlights

As 2024 draws to a close, we’re celebrating the incredible achievements of our team at Spinnaker. From professional milestones to personal triumphs, our staff have had an inspiring year—and they’re excited to share their highlights with you. Join us as we look back on a year filled with growth, success, and memorable moments!

Phil Parry, CEO

Taking the total raised for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity to over £3m.

When we started the OSCAR Campaign to raise funds from shipping to support a variety of projects, we set ourselves a target of half a million pounds.  That seemed a bit of a stretch at the time, but the total is now £3.45m of which £740,000 was raised during 2024.  That’s an amazing achievement, the credit for which belongs to the 30 teams who took part in the 2024 OSCAR Dragon Boat Race and in particular to Union Maritime and event sponsors Oldendorff Carriers.

Putting family first

The time comes when children become their parents’ carers.  For me, that time came in Autumn 2023 and was followed by 8 heartbreaking months watching my elderly father lose both his legs to diabetes and become entirely dependent upon me, my mother and my partner (her own father now having just had a stroke – at least we’ve had training!). The achievement? Prioritising Dad and putting in the time to make him feel loved and cared for. They say you only live once, but I recently heard this turned on its head – you only die once, but you live every day. We made sure we were there for Dad every day and I feel that we gave him the best last 8 months he could have had. I shall always be proud of that.

David Tubb, Director, Recruitment

Work Achievement – This year has been a record-breaking one for me, achieving my best-ever billings to date. It’s been incredibly rewarding to see hard work, dedication, and perseverance pay off in such a significant way.

Personal Achievement – I took the plunge and signed up for the London Marathon, a challenge I’ve always dreamed of taking on. Even better, I’ve stayed committed to my training schedule, and I’m feeling stronger and more motivated with every run.

Daryna Rozum, Reward Consultant

Work Achievement – This year I joined SEA and had my first year working on Seafarer Daily Wage Cost Survey alongside Sandra and Georgina. I also felt much more confident networking at the conference.

Personal Achievement – I knitted my first jumper in 2024 and haven’t stopped making garments ever since. I also started actually speaking Norwegian this year. And had my first hike ever!

Helen McCaughran, Marketing & Business Development Manager

From a work perspective, I am incredibly proud of the work I have done to evolve the annual Maritime People & Culture conference. This year we introduced the Gala Dinner and Maritime HR Awards giving delegates further opportunities to network and also showcase some of the amazing work they do in their HR departments.

From a personal perspective, I’m pleased to have stuck to my goals set at the beginning of the year for regular pilates and mindfulness sessions. Namaste!

Bethanie-Taylor Grenfell, Marketing & HRC Executive

Work Achievement – This year, I stepped into a marketing role, and I’m incredibly proud of how much my confidence has grown, particularly in reaching out and collaborating on marketing projects for Spinnaker. I’ve played a part in expanding our connections and contacts in this space, which has been so rewarding. A highlight for me was working alongside Phil and GOSH to help organise the OSCAR Dragon Boat Race. Being part of such an incredible, record-breaking, and meaningful event is something I’m truly proud of this year!

Personal Achievement – In 2024, six years of hard work, determination, and saving finally paid off—my partner and I bought our first home! We’ve been in for almost a month now, and having the opportunity to make it our own and complete all the work ourselves is something I’m so proud of us for achieving.

Clementine Matiwaza, Recruitment Resourcer

Work Achievement: This year, I’ve deepened my knowledge of the shipping market while building strong connections with an incredible network of clients and marine professionals. It’s been a rewarding journey of growth and learning in such a dynamic industry.

Personal Achievement: On a personal note, sometimes just staying alive, staying positive, and navigating the ups and downs of life is an achievement in itself—and I’m proud of that!