Newsletter
OYT South bulletin 17th September 2021
In this Bulletin
Sections which have changed since last time marked *
- * Voyage news
- * 2022 voyage programme
- Articles about OYT South – can you take part?
- Vessel tracking
- Chris Ellis Award– win £££s off the price of your next voyage!
- Core refit team needed
- * Financial appeal
- Painting of Prolific - prints available to buy!
- Raise funds for OYT South if you're shopping online!
- OYT South social media - please get involved
- Branded clothing
- Raise And Sail - website for anyone looking to raise money to come sailing
- New readers’ welcome and introduction
- Receiving this newsletter by email
* Voyage news
Last week’s voyage was for a group from the Amber Foundation, a charity which says: “We aim to support vulnerable and disadvantaged young people to transform their own lives by helping them move out of homelessness and unemployment into bright secure futures”. The group joined on Wednesday and sailed down to Yarmouth on the first evening, picking up a buoy for the night. On Thursday they sailed to Portland in southerly winds and not the kindest weather – they all did extremely well to stay positive, especially with an 0430 start for the tide!
In Portland some of the group went ashore for a walk and then in the evening they watched a film on board. Next day they sailed to Poole and had time ashore – they appreciated the showers. Saturday saw them sailing back through the Needles Channel (great steering by some of the group in challenging conditions) and heading for Osborne Bay. They spent the night in Cowes, with a party for one crew member’s birthday, and an early start next morning to get back to Southampton after sailing a total of 125 nautical miles. Six people earned RYA Start Yachting certificates.
Skipper Holly commented: “It was clear from the outset that this group were on board to get the most out of the voyage that they could. To develop their skills, learn about a life at sea, support each other as friends, have a fun time. It was very much an adults’ voyage where we were all on the same page, making it thoroughly enjoyable for the sea staff too. They were collectively polite and engaged and are very supportive of each other. The atmosphere was consistently positive and fun.”
All six crew members earned their RYA Start Yachting qualifications. One said: “After being praised once or twice for my steering I am super confident. Was really fun doing watch shifts, made it seem all official.” Another said: “My most enjoyable bit was probably just like being part of the crew with the boat … like it’s actually us doing it, scary!” and a third said: “I did enjoy sitting at the front of the boat, that bit was pretty mint, I'm gonna tell fibs to make out like it was much more dramatic, like there was waves and that and I fell and stuff like that.” The crew member who had her birthday on board told staff it had been years since she could celebrate with a friendly group of people and a small party: “My most memorable bit would probably be like the birthday and how much effort everyone made, that made it just really special for me.” After seeing the voyage report, Amber’s Operations Manager said: “Thank you for this really thorough and incredible feedback, the residents had such a wonderful time and clearly learned lots of new skills and made some memories which I’m sure will last a lifetime. Thanks to you and the crew for your continued support and we hope to work with you again for another voyage in the future."
Big thanks to sea staff Holly, Adam, Josh, Lauren, Glyn and Clara Theil who made some good progress towards qualifying as a third mate.
After the Amber group left on Sunday, we were delighted to have a visit from a representative of a donor which has given us great support over a number of years but has never previously had the opportunity to come on board. SAMSON Materials Handling Ltd and the AUMUND Foundation have been making donations towards our work since 2016 and we currently have a grant from them towards voyage costs for young people who could not otherwise afford to take part. So it was great to welcome Dale Lockley, Managing Director at SAMSON Materials Handling Ltd, and his wife Jules, for a tour of Prolific. Huge thanks to Dale and all his team for everything they have done for us over the years!
On Monday there was some filming on board as our sponsors MDL are making a film for their berth-holders about how sailing families can safely and happily take their children to sea. We were happy to help with this!
This week we have been able to resume a great partnership between OYT South and the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust. They sent six young people who had had cancer, plus two staff – one very experienced sailor and one medic. The young people had all previously sailed on at least one EMCT voyage so were ready for a bigger boat adventure with Prolific.
They sailed to Thorness on Monday night and then headed west on Tuesday. They haven’t been lucky with wind and there was a bit of sailing and quite a lot of motoring. Crew members went out on the bowsprit and a friendly dolphin escorted the boat for some way. Big thanks to Droning On who posted some great shots of Prolific entering Poole.
In Poole there was time for the crew to explore, have showers and play games. On Wednesday morning they did some training towards their RYA certificates and then motored in no wind to Swanage. At anchor they were able to get crew members out rowing the dinghy and having races before going ashore for a beach BBQ.
They were back on board to enjoy the sunset while sitting on beanbags on deck, playing games.
Yesterday saw them drifting slowly under all possible towards the Needles – enjoying the mizzen staysail:
They got back to Ocean Village last night and watched a film on board before the voyage ended this morning – with RYA Competent Crew certificates for all six young people!
Big thanks to sea staff Holly, Ollie, Lucy, Lauren, Willoughby and Sara.
* 2022 voyage programme
This is later than usual – because of the shortened season this year, we haven’t yet been able to rearrange all of 2020’s cancelled voyages, and many of them are schools who have only been able to start thinking about possible dates now this term is underway. So we are still in discussions with a few people who are owed voyages (including people whose deposits we have been holding since 2019!) but we can now publish a draft 2022 programme. Email webmaster1@oytsouth.org if you are interested in booking one or more places for young people aged under 25. If you are interested in adult voyages, there are two adult weekends shown on the programme and those dates should be fixed. There is also a suggested date for a longer adult voyage but that one is currently flexible and we may move it depending on demand from youth group clients. Again, email webmaster1@oytsouth.org if you are interested in an adult berth. Please don’t contact us yet about sea staff bookings – we’ll deal with those over the winter.
Articles about OYT South – can you take part?
You may be aware that we have had fantastic support in recent years from P66, a company whose staff have taken part in all sorts of activities to raise funds for us, and who have given us expert help and advice as well. Recently they have introduced us to someone who has offered to help us with PR in publications where we haven’t previously had any connections – we have great links in the marine world but this would take us into other areas and perhaps help us build new sources of funds and support. They are interested in all sorts of things such as articles about the skills learned on board, or the ways in which people might change and develop through sailing with us.
We are looking for people who might be interested in being featured in an article – it might be someone who has volunteered with us for years and who has used your experience with the charity to help you build a successful career; but equally it might be a young person who has done one voyage and feels that it has made a real difference to you. If you might be interested in taking part, please send a quick email (a paragraph or two will do) explaining the key points of your story, and including a phone number, and we will arrange a chat on the phone with any that look suitable for an article. We will of course apply appropriate safeguarding precautions to under-18s or vulnerable adults who are interested in taking part and can change names and leave out confidential details if someone has a great story to tell but doesn’t want to be identified.
Vessel tracking
Don’t forget you can always have a look and see where Prolific is sailing.
Just for the moment we can’t welcome visitors on board due to Covid protocols but if you discover that Prolific is in a harbour somewhere near you, please go and say hello from a safe distance. And sometimes you may be just what we need if you have local information or a bit of time to spare to help with something, or a car for running a quick errand!
Big thanks to the Graham High Charity who sponsor our vessel tracking.
Chris Ellis Award – win £££s off the price of your next voyage!
Now open for 2021 entries.
If you enjoy a voyage with OYT South and want to come again (and are aged 11-25), please think about entering for this award. You can win up to £500 off the price of another voyage, by sending in an account of a voyage you have already done with us. It can be a logbook, diary, story, pictures, video - anything which gives the judges an idea of why you had a good time and would like to come again. The prize is judged at the end of each season and the award can be spent on a voyage the following year. Entries should be emailed to webmaster1@oytsouth.org or posted to the office. See here for more details of this award, which was set up in memory of the charity's founder. You can also see some previous winning entries.
There were no 2020 winners because we were unable to sail, so it would be great to see an excellent crop of entries for 2021!
Core refit team needed
Obviously our winter plans are all dependent on what we can do in a Covid-safe manner, but all being well, we will be looking for a core team of volunteers to come and help us this winter from November to March. This is something we've been doing since at least 2002: a small full-time team offers continuity alongside all the other volunteers who come for odd days or weekends. We provide free food and accommodation for the core team as well as great experience in boat maintenance and a chance to make a real difference to a good cause while enjoying a sociable winter in the team. Many previous core team members are still great friends of the charity - some still sailing with us, others using the experience to help develop their careers. If you want to follow in the footsteps of Jake, Oran and Ian from the last full-time core team, and all the others who have gone before them, please see here for details and how to apply.
* Financial appeal
Big thanks this week to the friends and family of John Pennefather who are continuing to make very kind donations in his memory.
We need a regular flow of funds to cover at least three major areas: bursaries for young people who could not otherwise afford to sail; vessel maintenance and equipment; and staff salaries - please help, or pass on our details to anyone you come across who might make a grant, large or small.
See here for how to make a donation - you can contribute by cheque, phone or PayPal, but please do something if you possibly can. Don't forget that if you complete and return a Gift Aid form (pdf) we can claim back tax on your donation.
Painting of Prolific – prints available to buy!
Our friend, Gosport-based marine artist Colin Baxter, has prints taken from an original painting of Prolific available for you to buy.
The unframed prints will measure 370mm x 230mm plus border. They will be numbered and signed, and will cost £45 if you can pick yours up in Gosport, and £50 if you need it posted (they will probably come rolled in a cardboard tube). Order here:
Anyone outside the UK wanting to order a copy, please email us.
Raise funds for OYT South if you're shopping online!
"What a fool I was!" says Mark Todd.
"For ages I've seen in the bulletin that Easyfundraising is a good way to raise money for charity, but I never got round to doing anything about it, and when Caz told me how easy it was, I didn't listen.
I thought it might be a hassle, or that I'd have to remember to do something when I bought stuff online, or that it probably wasn't really worthwhile.
This week I finally got round to it and it turns out it's a REALLY EASY way to raise money for the charity I care about ... and I definitely should have done it sooner.
It takes a minute or two to sign up; you can do it on a desktop, tablet and/or phone, and you can install a widget that flags up when a donation is available. Once that's done, imagine you're looking to buy - say - a rainbow unicorn: just put "rainbow unicorn" in your usual search box, and the list of results shows you which sites come with donations, and how much. It's up to you what to pick and whether to accept the donation from the site, but a huge choice of sites will offer a donation - and it doesn't cost you a penny.
I don't know why I didn't do it sooner ... but if there's anyone else who has been like me and just not got round to it, PLEASE click the link now and sign up!"
OYT South is also registered with Amazon Smile which makes donations to us when people shop - Amazon will donate 0.5% of the net purchase price on eligible purchases. If you ever shop with Amazon, do have a look - once you pick Ocean Youth Trust South as your chosen charity and start using https://smile.amazon.co.uk, you don't need to do anything further, and all your other Amazon account settings remain unchanged.
OYT South social media – please get involved
One of the simplest ways you can help us while we can’t sail is to keep looking at our social media pages and share, retweet or like as many posts as possible. This all helps to make sure other people hear about us too – and the more we can keep alive the interest in our charitable work, the more people might help us now or start to think about sailing with us in future. Maybe you’ve got a community group, a local page, even a street WhatsApp where members might like to know that you are involved with a charity that could be of interest to them?
We are on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/oytsouth - please do give us a Like! If you were friends with John Laing on our old page (https://www.facebook.com/johnlaingsailing please do move to the new page now.
We are also on Twitter @oytsouth so please follow us!
And Instagram @oyt_south
And LinkedIn Ocean Youth Trust South
Please note that OYT South has a policy that our adult staff and volunteers should not make or accept individual online friend requests with crew members aged under 18, or vulnerable adults. Crew members can use the sites to stay in touch with the boat and with each other, but not with individual staff and volunteers.
Branded clothing
OYT South branded clothing available - please see here. You can buy hoodies (in a wide range of colours), fleeces, short- and long-sleeved t-shirts, baseball caps, beanie hats, polo shirts and more, all with OYT South's logo!
Raise And Sail - website for anyone looking to raise money to come sailing
Raise And Sail is a section of this website full of ideas, information and support for young people who would like to raise money in order to come sailing with us. Huge thanks to Fiona Keen and Emma Burrows for putting Raise And Sail together. We hope you will find it useful - let us know how you get on as we can add success stories and new ideas to the site in due course.
New readers' welcome and introduction
If you have recently registered your interest in OYT South, welcome to our newsletter, which is sent out almost every week, normally on a Friday, and is also copied onto the website.
If you have just started receiving this newsletter by email, it is because we believe you have signed up and consented to receive it - perhaps by emailing us to ask for it, completing a form on our website, or adding your email address to the book on board where people can sign up to receive news, as well as leaving comments. If this was a mistake or you simply decide you want to stop receiving the newsletter, just press “reply” to the email and write UNSUBSCRIBE at the top, or email webmaster1@oytsouth.org asking to unsubscribe.
Each week the newsletter includes a wide range of news from the boat and from the charity, including details of voyages available for young people; adult voyages; opportunities for adult volunteers both ashore and afloat, and much more. We find that while some people read the bulletin almost every week, many others dip in and out, and read it when it's convenient - which is why some items are repeated. New items are marked with an asterisk * so that if you did read it last week, you can see which sections you can safely skip.
Please feel free to join in any OYT South activities - nothing here is restricted to long-standing members or people who already know one another. New people are always very welcome!
If you need an introduction to the work of OYT South, you should find a lot of useful information on our website. But essentially, we are a registered charity (no. 1079959) which exists to offer adventure under sail as a personal development opportunity for young people aged 12-25, from the widest possible range of backgrounds. A high proportion of our young crew members are disadvantaged or deserving in some way: many of these sail in groups organised by other charities, youth clubs, special schools and so on, and will fill the bulk of our term-time voyages. But those from more fortunate backgrounds are also welcome to sail, either in groups or by coming as individuals on a mixed voyage. Every year we run a variety of shorter local voyages plus longer adventure trips - sometimes including Tall Ships races during the summer holidays. If you are aged 12-25 and hoping to sail as a crew member, take a look here - and this section is also useful for adults who are thinking of organising a voyage for a young person. Adults planning to organise a full group voyage should also see here. Adults who want to sail themselves should see here.
We have a professional staff skipper and engineer, but our watch leaders are normally all volunteers, who combine sailing skills with an interest in working with young people. You can find more information here - how the system works, how to join, and profiles of existing staff and volunteers.
To volunteer for OYT South ashore, please see here. To help with the vessel's annual refit, see here.
It is a very expensive business maintaining a boat, running an office and employing staff. If you want to help us, please become a member of OYT South. Or see here for information on making a donation.
If you have any questions, please do email - or contact the office.
Receiving this newsletter by email
Many thanks to all those who have given consent to receiving this newsletter by email. If you are not currently getting it by email and would like to, please just click here Newsletter Subscribe and press "send", or email webmaster1@oytsouth.org.
