Want to sail but can't afford it?
Help with funding your voyage
If you are hoping to raise money in order to come sailing with us, the first place to look is Raise And Sail - OYT South's website full of ideas for young people about fundraising.
We also have a network of "local champions" who help to publicise out voyages in order to earn money off their own voyage. If you are in a school, college, university or club and want to spread the word about our voyage vacancies, you cn earn up to £50 (depending on the value of the the voyage) off the price of your own place for every new booking you bring us, if they confirm that they heard about it from you - so if you get several people to book, you can get a big reduction on your own voyage cost. You need to apply to be recognised as a local champion, and we will tell you which voyages to publicise and send you posters or flyers to use. Email webmaster1@oytsouth.org for more information.
There may be discounts avalable in certain circumstances for any voyage (please ask); but the availability list will tell you any voyages where we have specific bursary funding definitely available.
Apart from that, if you have already done a voyage with us, enjoyed it and want to come again, you can enter the Chris Ellis Award - there's an annual prize of up to £200 off the cost of another voyage for the best diary, logbook, story or picture from someone who has done a voyage with us. Age limit 12-25. Deadline is Christmas each year.
It might well be worth applying to the James Myatt Trust, who fund people aged 16-25 to take part in sail training.
Ocean Youth Trust South itself also has a limited amount of bursary funding available to help people aged 12-25 who cannot afford our full voyage prices.
Anyone can apply for help to pay for a voyage, but current funding priorities include:
* Young people from disadvantaged and deserving backgrounds
* Young people who genuinely cannot afford to sail
* Young people who can only afford short local voyages but with financial support would be able to take part in longer, more adventurous voyages
* Young people who have been recommended as future sea staff (bosuns and watchleaders) who need to sail again in order to gain experience
* Young people who have sailed with us before and demonstrated that they are enthusiastic, hard-working individuals who will have a positive impact on any voyage
If you are unsure whether you might qualify for a bursary, please ask!
Applications for bursary funding can be emailed to us and should include the following information:
- Name, age and full contact details for applicant(s)
- Details of availability for any vacant voyages (there may be more chance of getting a bursary if you are available for a choice of voyages, rather than applying for just one)
- How much money you are applying for, and how you plan to raise the rest of the funds, including travel costs to and from the boat (the majority of bursaries awarded are likely to be for 50% or less of the voyage fee; a smaller number may be for more than that, but only in very exceptional circumstances will OYT South award a full bursary).
- A short statement about why you want to sail, what you want to achieve by doing a voyage, and why you would like to be considered for bursary funding.
- Contact details for an adult (not a family member) who will support your application (e.g. a teacher, youth worker etc.)
See below for voyages which you might apply for:
UK-based voyages
ASTO Small Ships races
Duke of Edinburgh's Award Residential Projects
Voyage programme 2022
How to book a voyage - including booking forms
IdeasFundraising - a website with loads of ideas for how you couild raise money for your voyage, or to support our work with young people who wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to sail.
