Group Voyages

Introduction for group leaders

Examples of group voyages
What previous groups said

With twelve crew berths available on every voyage, an organisation can book all twelve places for a particular group. We regularly provide group voyages for a range of schools, youth clubs, charities and other organisations.

All twelve berths can be booked for young people, but it is possible to divide the places between young people and adult leaders in any way you choose. Some groups do not bring adult leaders at all; others bring one or two. Where crew members with physical or learning difficulties require one-to-one support, it is possible to bring six young people and six adult staff.

It is by no means compulsory to bring adult leaders with a group. Some simply don’t need it. Others may even benefit from being in a different environment and working with OYT South sea staff as a change from their familiar youth leaders.

Where young people have complex needs or behavioural problems, however, it is generally appropriate to include adults in the group who have experience of dealing with them.

A number of group leaders with a real interest in sailing have gone on to qualify as OYT South sea staff – which allows them to bring a full group of 12 young crew members while they themselves sail in one of the staff berths.

Whether you are a group leader who plans to sail on a voyage, or a non-sailing leader whose role is simply to organise the group, we hope this website will answer all your questions, but if not, please do not hesitate to contact the office to discuss your specific requirements or queries.

To book your voyage, please follow our step-by-step guide and check thevoyage programme 2008 or voyage programme 2009.

You can also download booking forms (pdf). Please note that each individual member of the crew must complete a form, to be signed by a parent or guardian if they are under 18.

Sometimes a group booking may not fill all twelve places on the boat. If you wish to bring ten people, for example, you can ask OYT South to advertise the remaining two places to others, who can then pay for those places, or you may prefer that the boat is restricted only to your own group, in which case you must pay for twelve places regardless of how many people you bring.

If you initially book the boat for a full group of twelve, but subsequently find that you cannot fill all the places, you can ask OYT South to try to sell the surplus places, in which case any voyage fees from those places will be subtracted from your own fee. However, sometimes it is impossible to fill spare berths at short notice, in which case you will still be liable for twelve places as originally booked.

Child Protection Policy
OYT South's Child Protection Policy is available here as a pdf file.

Risk Assessment
OYT South's standard risk assessment is available here.

OYT South leaflet
You can download this leaflet about OYT South to give to potential crew members, parents and guardians, or to put up on a noticeboard. There are two pdf files which together can make up a double-sided leaflet:

OYT South leaflet front and back (pdf)
OYT South leaflet inside (pdf)