Eloise is on a mission: to sail every single Challenge vessel. So far, she’s completed 7 out of thirteen, she’s now a marketing professional and Royal Navy Reservist. But her transformation began almost two decades ago through a sailing bursary that changed everything. As a teenager from inland northern England who’d never even been on holiday, Eloise never imagined herself at sea. Today, her story demonstrates the profound and lasting impact that Tall Ships Youth Trust bursaries have on young people’s lives.

A World Beyond Reach

Elouise grew up in a community marked by poverty. Holidays weren’t part of the family budget, let alone anything as extravagant as sailing.

“I would never have had that kind of opportunity to even go on holiday, never mind get on a million-pound yacht and sail into the middle of the ocean”she explains. “It never even crossed my mind that that was a possibility or something to do.”

But in 2006, through a bursary from her youth group and Tall Ships Youth Trust, 19-year-old Elouise stepped aboard the Prince William for her first ever sailing trip. It was the first of four voyages she’d complete between 2006 and 2010, all made possible through financial support through our bursary scheme.

The moment she stepped aboard a Challenger yacht, something shifted.

“I fell in love with it completely and I never wanted to sail anything else ever again.”

Opening Up the World

Those four voyages didn’t just teach Eloise how to trim a sail or stand a watch. They fundamentally changed what she believed was possible for her life.

“It opened the world up for me, It made me realise that actually these things are possible for a kid growing up in the north of England with not a lot of money. There is a world out there that’s available to you and you can do it.”

The impact was immediate and lasting. Her ambitions expanded. A good job, success, travel, adventure, suddenly these weren’t distant dreams but achievable goals. Her future had opened up in ways she’d never imagined possible.

“My mind from that point was, well, you know, I can get a good job and I can be successful, I can make some money, I can get out and see the world. All these possibilities opened up, and it all happened because of those voyages with the Tall Ships Youth Trust. Sailing changed my life.”

The Long Gap

By 2010, Eloise had aged out of the bursary programme. Without the financial means to pay for voyages herself, sailing stopped. For twelve years, the ocean had to wait.

But the impact of those formative voyages never faded. Eloise built her career in marketing, gained independence, and when the time was right, she knew exactly where she wanted to return.

Storm-Force Return

In December 2022, Eloise returned to sailing on a voyage from Vigo to Madeira. One hundred miles from land, the engine died. The winds had dropped. The skipper gathered the crew: they’d need to conserve food, water, and electricity. No one knew how long they’d be out there.

The crew ended up harnessing a force 9 storm just to reach land, then requiring the Portuguese coastguard to tow them into port. It could have put anyone off sailing for good.

For Eloise, it reignited everything.

“I wouldn’t change a thing about it, It showed me what I could actually cope with. It makes you feel alive when you’re in a situation like that.”

She made a decision: she would try to sail on every single vessel in the Challenger fleet. All thirteen of them. It became her bucket list, her driving purpose, her way of staying connected to what those early voyages had given her.

“I don’t know if it’s doable, I don’t know if I’ll ever complete it,” she admits. “But it’s making my choices go in certain directions.”

So far, she’s sailed on 7. Six more to go.

The Ripple Effect

The thread that began in 2006 continues to weave through Elouise’s life. In March 2024, she joined the Royal Navy Reserves, drawn by the opportunity for more time at sea, more challenges, more growth.

“I’ve always been interested in the military, but I realised that I really love being out at sea and I love it when there’s a challenge,” she says. “The skills that I’ve learned through all the Tall Ships Youth Trust voyages have been helping me through my naval career as well.”

She runs a blog documenting her journey to sail all the Challenger vessels. She’s become an advocate for the transformative power of sail training, directing people from her inland community people who, like her younger self, never considered sailing as something for them towards Tall Ships Youth Trust.

“A lot of people don’t ever think about going sailing,” she notes. “Then when they see my stuff on social media, they ask how I got into it and where they could have a go.”

You can follow Eloise’s mission to sail all 13 Challenge yachts on her blog and Instagram, where she shares the reality of life at sea, storms and all.

Why It Matters

Elouise’s story illustrates something fundamental about what Tall Ships Youth Trust does. The impact of those voyages only made possible for Elouise through our bursary scheme, wasn’t just about learning to sail. It was about a young person from a disadvantaged background discovering that the world held possibilities she’d never imagined.

Nearly two decades later, that discovery is still shaping her life. The confidence, resilience, and sense of adventure fostered on those early voyages created a foundation that has supported her through career development, personal challenges, and new ambitions.

“I feel like my story really emphasises what you’re all about,” Elouise says. “It’s your values, isn’t it? Your core values.”

From a teenager who’d never been on holiday to a marketing professional, Royal Navy Reservist, and passionate advocate for sail training, Elouise’s journey shows that when you give a young person the chance to discover what they’re capable of, the impact can last a lifetime.

And she’s not finished yet. Six more Challenger yachts are waiting.

Tall Ships Youth Trust changes young lives at sea through the power of outdoor learning in an ocean environment. If you’d like to give more young people like Elouise a life-changing opportunity, visit our website or get in touch to make a donation or learn other ways you might be able to help.