In September, eight young people from Youth Action Wiltshire (YAW) set sail on a Tall Ships Youth Trust (TSYT) six-night voyage of Empowerment, from Portsmouth to Ipswich. Thanks to generous bursary support from the International Association of Cape Horners (IACH).

The group were aged between 15 – 17, from YAW, an organisation that provides targeted youth support to a variety of different groups, including young carers, unemployed (NEET), young victims of crime, special needs and those experiencing difficulties in their lives through its Splash and Wiltshire Young Carers programmes.

The young people were selected because YAW felt that a voyage would be beneficial to their personal development be that their leadership, team working skills, and for some  a break from their caring role.

All of the young people have previously taken part in TSYT’s voyage of Exploration, the first part in its three-voyage journey of Exploration, Empowerment and Leadership. This opportunity was truly life-changing for them and they showed great interest in returning again for the second voyage of Empowerment; a longer, more challenging voyage, to continue on their personal development journey.

This voyage gave them opportunities to build independence, learn to lead and make decisions, embrace challenges and set goals for future development. Following the voyage, the young people told us they felt more confident about taking opportunities, making goals and finding success in trying to achieve them. They told us…

“This trip has allowed me to take time out of my life’s stress and be in a new environment, I had opportunities for leadership, and I now feel confident in taking charge of a situation, thank you.” William, 15.

“The highlight of my voyage is how we worked as a team, and the help we had from the crew. I’ve learnt how to handle stress more efficiently.” Dylan, 16.

“Before the trip I felt nervous but excited, the crew were so caring it put me at ease, my highlight was helping out with all the cooking.” Molly, 17.

“The young people have been fantastic this week, it was a particularly challenging voyage as we were chased by a storm from Portsmouth to Dover which saw part of our main sail rip, but they showed great resilience and problem solving skills when faced with these unforeseen events. They should all be immensely proud of themselves.” Rachel Greig, Inspire Tutor and Splash Youth Support Worker at YAW

Many of the group have said they would love to voyage with TSYT again, and one in particular, William, is keen to continue his journey via its trainee Watch Leader programme, he also hopes to complete the Leadership voyage in the future, the final stage of the three-voyage programme, this will give him opportunities to take further pathways such as volunteering, ocean racing and maritime apprenticeships.

The experience they have had at sea, would not have been possible without the generous support of IACH, a huge thank you once again.