We sat down with Rachel Greig, Splash Programme Team Leader at Youth Action Wiltshire, which is the youth work arm of Wiltshire-based charity Community First. Through its youth work programmes, the charity offers support for Young Carers, young people facing challenges in their lives, young victims of crime and young people who are Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET). We spoke to Rachel about the amazing and impactful work that Youth Action Wiltshire and Tall Ships Youth Trust have done together over the last 9 years.

The Youth Action Wiltshire voyages have been proudly supported and funded by the Hugo Halkes Charitable Trust.

On how the partnership began:

“I believe we were initially approached by TSYT in 2015 about a voyage on a catamaran, as you had some funding for Wiltshire young people and wanted to work with a local charity. Internally it was decided that it would be a joint project between two different programmes, Young Carers and Splash.

After that initial voyage in February 2016, the Hugo Halkes Charitable Trust were keen to support a second voyage, so we did one in October 2016. Again, this was well received by both the young people and the funders, so we agreed to and have done two voyages a year ever since.”

On the highlights of the voyages:

“We have done 18 voyages with TSYT to date. For my colleagues and l, the main highlight of a voyage is the change we see in the young people from day one to day five. It does have to be seen to be believed.

On day one, on their faces you can see a lot of apprehension and in some cases a little bit of terror. By day five they are usually sad to leave but having had a great but tiring time. There is usually a great camaraderie and attitude to get involved in whatever needs to be done, even if that means cleaning a toilet.

Other highlights have included seeing dolphins, watching the young people climb the mast, seeing young people at the helm and the first time they work together to put up the main sail.”

On the young people and the impact:

“For each voyage, we choose five young people from our Young Carers programme and five from our Splash programme. Young Carers must have been assessed as having a significant caring role for someone in the family or household. The referral criteria for Splash are wider, including young victims of crime, special educational needs, mental health issues, looked-after children, and emotional or behavioural issues etc.

We look for young people who will benefit from the intensive opportunity, those who could do with a boost in confidence or self-esteem. We also look for those who might have ‘slipped through the cracks’ or go under the radar and have disappeared in school, for example, because they are not high achievers, have special educational needs, or are perceived as a ‘naughty kid’.

The impact that we see in young people will depend on their own individual situations, but all generally include an increase in self-esteem and confidence. They usually embody the ‘I can’ mentality, having a greater belief in themselves. They have become part of a team, with a shared goal and that has given them a purpose.

We have even had one young person who changed his career path after a voyage to pursue an interest in the maritime sector.”

On specific transformative stories:

“We have brought over 160 young people on voyages, so there are so many different stories. Here are a few:

(Note: The young person’s name has been withheld for privacy. The letters A, B, and C are used instead of real names.)

A – was initially nervous about the voyage, but during our preparation sessions seemed to cope with his nerves. On getting onto the boat, he struggled to cope with the movement of the boat when docked up in Portsmouth so when we left, he became a ‘winch hugger’. There was definite fear in his eyes that something bad was going to happen on that first sail over to Cowes and he took a lot of encouragement to leave the cockpit when we were underway. Mid-week we did mast climbing and he was a steadfast no, but there was a desire in him to give it a go, but he couldn’t get over his fears. The next day we did spinnaker pole climbing while underway and with a lot of support from the rest of the young people he managed to do this. I believe this was down to the positive relationships he made with the other young people and the crew which he learnt to trust. The smile on his face when he got to the end of the pole was an amazing sight to see.

B- started with an “I can’t” mentality, not because he had tried them and failed, but because he had been told he couldn’t do something. When it came to the mast climbing activity, he was keen to give it a go, but also very nervous. He made it to the first spreader before he succumbed to his nerves and came down. He went up a second time and with a lot of vocal encouragement from everyone he slowly made it to the top.

C – has completed two voyages with TSYT. In the preparation sessions for his first voyage, he was very anxious about being able to cope with the close quarters and the sleeping arrangements as he struggled to sleep (due to his medication). We made a special effort to send the group to bed early to give them all a good opportunity to get adequate sleep and the combination of this and the physical nature of sailing made for some very good nights for him. He was a last-minute addition to his second voyage. As he had been before, he became more of a leader on this voyage, helping the young people out with tying knots on the first day and when a sail ripped off the edge, he went forward with another young person and a watch leader to bring it down. They came back completely soaked as it the waves had been breaking on the bow, but also with the biggest smiles that they had been allowed to do that. After his first voyage he had changed his career ideas and taken a Travel and Tourism course so he could work on cruise ships in the future.”

On hopes for the future:

“We obviously hope that these voyages can continue but understand that they are always funding dependant”. This is why we are so grateful to the Hugo Halkes Charitable Trust for their continued support, helping Youth Action Wiltshire and Tall Ships Youth Trust change young lives at sea.

A sincere thank you to Rachel for sharing her insights and to the entire Youth Action Wiltshire team for their work. We are extremely proud of the all the young people we have had on board with us, and we are looking forward to having you all aboard again very soon.

None of this would be possible without the vital support of the Hugo Halkes Charitable Trust and every single person who donates and supports our youth work. It’s because of you that young people like A, B, and C get the chance to discover their strengths, build their confidence, and start to believe in a brighter future for themselves. We simply couldn’t do it without you!

Please know that when you choose to support us, you’re not just giving a donation, you’re investing directly in a young person’s journey and helping to change a life.

We want to encourage everyone who can – to donate and help us continue making a difference.

Find out how you can support us today:
tallships.org/support-us/