In this Bulletin
Sections which have changed since last time marked *
- * Voyage news– youth voyages get under way again!
- * Vessel tracking – see where Prolific is sailing
- * Refit news – refit is done!
- * Volunteer sea staff – voyages still available
- 2025 individual voyages available – individual bookings for young people
- 2025 group voyages available – group bookings for young people or adults
- Adult weekend voyages – including opportunities to look at joining our volunteers’ team
- Events needing volunteers – in Hampshire and in Devon
- * Keeping our website up to date – can you help?
- FREE boat show and a chance to visit Prolific – please spread the word
- Prolific maintenance days – dates for your diary
- Advice on careers in the marine sector for young people
- * Financial appeal
- Raise funds for OYT South if you’re shopping online – we’ve made over £2,400 through Easyfundraising!
- OYT South social media – please share as well as liking! NB we are now on Bluesky instead of Twitter/X
- New readers’ welcome and introduction
- Receiving this newsletter by email
* Voyage news – youth voyages get under way again!
Prolific is sailing again, with young people on board! Our first intrepid voyagers of the season come from The Petersfield School – they joined on Wednesday and had all the usual familiarisation and safety briefings:
Soon they were setting off for their first evening sail:
However, it was only a short evening, as there was thick fog in the Solent. But going down Southampton Water and back again helped people to get used to the boat before they headed out again yesterday morning for what turned out to be a great sail in the sunshine and lots of tacking:
They reached Cowes last night and this morning they were busy with activities. Skipper Mark says this is a fantastic group of young people, full of enthusiasm!
Big thanks to the sea staff: Mark, Josh, Glyn Collins, Lucinda Neall, Dave Dent, Theo Bennison and Aaron Arnold.
* Vessel tracking – see where Prolific is sailing
Vessel tracking has been switched on again for the season – you can always have a look and see what we’re up to. This site updates every six hours so don’t worry if the vessel doesn’t appear to be moving! There are other sites (like Marine Traffic) which update more often; but especially for families of a young person on board, the tracking on our site allows you to have a look two or three times a day and see what’s going on.
* Refit news – refit is done!
Huge thanks to every single person involved in the refit which ran from early November to the start of this week. It was a huge project with the vessel out of the water and several really major tasks planned. And of course, like all refits, there were also the unplanned tasks and things which only became clear as the winter months unfolded. But the end result is a beautiful boat ready to start the season; and even better, we’ve completed some tasks which won’t need to be repeated for several years. We really can’t thank you all enough …. And as we sail over the coming months, every time you read of good news, successful voyages, happy outcomes and positive feedback, those who helped with the refit should feel that some of the credit belongs to you.
This week’s list of refit helpers was Gotch, Josh, Sara and Shaun plus Sandy Garrity, Patrick Kelly, Harvey Henderson, Linnea Johansson, Steve and Cathy Lacey, Glyn Collins, and then the rest of the incoming sea staff: Mark, Lucinda Neall, Theo Bennison, Aaron Arnold and Dave Dent.
The first group spent Friday doing jobs in harbour, including swapping out old halyards for new and putting new ceramic jaws in the jammers, while Josh serviced the engine and generator. The new dinghy came on board (the old one is now deflated and living in the steering flat, ready to be used when needed) and there were lots of store runs. On Saturday they managed a proper sail, with sails going up and down and a chance to check that everything was working as it should. They got to Cowes and fuelled up (a LOT of fuel!) and called into Trinity Landing where they met one of our vice patrons, Nick Bonham. Then they went and anchored in Osborne Bay and put out 100 metres of chain just to check everything. They got back to Ocean Village late that night with not one but TWO bits of great news!
The first was that Prolific was ready to go sailing…
The second was that Patrick Kelly, who had completed virtually all of his First Mate assessment at the end of last season and just needed one more thing signed off, was able to get that done during the sea trials! As we always say when someone passes this challenging assessment, this is a great achievement as the first mate is the person who would have to take over if the skipper was ill or injured, so the criteria are demanding and we’re proud of all our qualified first mates!
We’ve known Patrick since he first came on a youth voyage as a teenager, and he was part of the core refit team in winter 2011-12, so it’s brilliant to see him having gained all his qualifications and able to play a leading role on board.
After the sea trials, from Sunday to Wednesday morning, the team threw themselves at a huge list of jobs – finishing the engine service, the final work on the new stove, more work with the new dinghy, endless tidying and stowing and cleaning and store runs and food shopping … all racing against the clock before the first youth crew arrived and the refit was officially OVER!
If you didn’t get to refit but still want to help, or if you enjoyed refit and want to do a bit more, do make a note of this season’s planned maintenance days.
* Volunteer sea staff – voyages still available
Whether or not you already have voyages booked as a volunteer this season, these are the spaces still available – please let us know if you can help with anything. Berths listed for “trainee mates” or “trainee bosuns” MAY be suitable for people who earned new recommendations last year to join our volunteer team, even if you have never sailed in a staff berth before – please ask whether any particular vacancy might be appropriate for you. Dates on this list are when young people are on board – please note that we normally need volunteers the afternoon before, to help get everything ready.
23-27 May, Southampton, qualified or trainee watchleader or bosun. This one doesn’t need sea staff joining the day before.
23-28 June, Southampton, qualified watchleader. Ideally able to stay for the maintenance day on 29th June.
18-23 July, Poole to Brixham, female volunteer needed
16-21 Aug, Brixham, qualified watchleader – must be available to stay for the maintenance day on 22nd Aug and to help with an evening event that day
1-5 Oct, Southampton, watchleader or bosun
6-10 Oct, Southampton – qualified or trainee watchleader or bosun
14-19 Oct, Southampton – qualified or trainee watchleader or bosun, ideally able to join for maintenance day on 13th October.
24-28 Oct, Southampton – qualified watchleader
Contact caroline.white@oytsouth.org if you would be interested in sailing on any of these voyages.
For those who are new to the process, do please remember that if you commit to a voyage booking then we do really need you! Sometimes people assume that with several staff and volunteers on each voyage, it won’t be a problem to drop out; or you may think that if you’re not a qualified volunteer, you are not essential to the voyage. But in practice, we need a certain number of adults on every voyage in order to be able to sail – and you may, for example, be the only female member of sea staff on a voyage which has girls in the crew. It’s quite possible that a voyage can’t go ahead without you, which is why we need to avoid people dropping out and if it is absolutely unavoidable, we need as much notice as possible. It is also why we appreciate you all and the time you give to the charity very much indeed!
2025 individual voyages available – individual bookings for young people
Our 2025 programme has plenty of exciting opportunities to join us this year!
Please spread the word!
These are voyages for young people who want to join a voyage as individuals or smaller groups, and mix with others:
28 May – 1 June, Southampton, 4 nights, £525 per person – 1 place left – half term
30 June – 6 July, Southampton to Le Havre, £735 per person, 6 nights, age 15-25,. Ends with time at a Tall Ships festival – an amazing experience with the fleet!
18-23 July, Poole to Brixham, 5 nights, age 11-25, £630 per person
24-29 July, Brixham to Brixham, 5 nights, age 11-25, £630 per person, places possibly available to join a booking from some members of a Nautical Training Corps unit
30 July – 4 Aug, Brixham to Brixham, 5 nights, age 11-25, £630 per person
11-15 August, Brixham to Brixham, 4 nights, age 11-16, £525 per person. A lot of our individual voyages attract keen young sailors, over-18s, people doing the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, and people wanting to test themselves with a challenging adventure; and, weather permitting, longer passages such as Channel crossings. But this doesn’t suit everyone! So for next year, we have designated this one shorter coastal voyage as a gentler opportunity, ideal for the younger end of our age range (11-16-year-olds) and passports not required. If you know anyone who is unsure about coping with a more ambitious voyage and wants an easier introduction, this is the voyage for them!
30 Aug – 3 Sept, Poole to Southampton, 4 nights, age 11-25, £525 per person
4-9 Sept, Southampton to Southampton, 5 nights, age 15-25, £630 per person
Email voyageadmin@oytsouth.org to ask about individual bookings.
2025 group voyages available – group bookings for young people or adults
Do you know a school or youth club or another organisation which might like an exclusive booking for 12-15 people?
We can also consider the occasional adult voyage if anyone has an idea for an adult group.
Dates currently available:
15-19 Sept, Southampton, 4 nights, age 11-25 (plus adult leaders if required), 15 places available, £525 per person
22-26 Sept, Southampton, 4 nights, age 11-25 (plus adult leaders if required), 15 places available, £525 per person
14-19 Oct, Southampton, 5 nights, age 11-25 (plus adult leaders if required), 15 places available, £630 per person
Email caroline.white@oytsouth.org to ask about group bookings and funding help if needed.
Adult weekend voyages – including opportunities to look at joining our volunteers’ team
We have adult weekends (18+, no upper age limit) available as follows:
2-4 May, Southampton, 2 nights, age range 18+, £265 per person, adult weekend voyage (Friday evening to Sunday evening)
10-12 Oct, Southampton, 2 nights, age range 18+, £265 per person, adult weekend voyage (Friday evening to Sunday evening)
Come and enjoy sailing our beautiful boat, or maybe find out what it takes to become a sailing volunteer – these weekends are a chance to find out if you might enjoy volunteering and, if so, for the skipper to recommend you for further volunteer training.
Email seastaffadmin@oytsouth.org to ask about adult weekends.
Events needing volunteers – in Hampshire and in Devon
This year Prolific will be open to visitors at the South Coast Boat Show in Ocean Village on the weekend of 10th-11th May, and at the Gosport marine festival on 17th May. We will need lots of people to show visitors around the boat and talk about our work – please put the dates in your diary and contact webmaster1@oytsouth.org if you are interested in helping!
We are also hosting an event on board at the end of the maintenance day on Friday 22nd August in Brixham, Devon – let us know if you can help with that.
Any of these events could be suitable for under-18s who have sailed with us: it is always good to have a few enthusiastic young people to talk about what they did on board, and encourage others to try it!
* Keeping our website up to date – can you help?
OYT South’s website is quite big and has a lot of pages – it’s possible that someone may be looking at a page which none of our staff has re-read for quite a while, or clicking a link we haven’t tried recently. So if you spot any broken links, errors or anything out of date, PLEASE tell us. We can only put things right if we know about them. This is a great way for someone to help us, especially if you can’t easily volunteer on voyages or help with events or maintenance. The odd hour or so in the comfort of your own home, looking through the website (and trying to imagine how it would work for someone new to us) is always very much appreciated! This is an ongoing task, not something that needs to be done on or by a specific date.
FREE boat show and a chance to visit Prolific – please spread the word
Are you coming on a voyage, or organising a group of young people to sail, and wanting a chance to look round the boat beforehand? Have you been on a voyage and want to show the boat to your family and friends? Are you thinking of sailing with us but not sure what it might be like? Or interested in finding out more about sailing as an adult volunteer?
MDL’s South Coast & Green Tech Boat Show 2025 could be the answer. It’s FREE show with lots to see – and Prolific will be at the heart of the show and open to the public on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th May. Do have a look at the website – and come and say hello to us!
Prolific maintenance days – dates for your diary
We have planned maintenance days this season on the following dates – please put them in your diary and email us if you can help. Skilled and unskilled tasks available – or maybe a chance to learn a new skill. Over-18s only, please.
Monday 21st April- Southampton
Sunday 18th May – Gosport
Saturday 7th June – Southampton
Sunday 29th June – Southampton
Friday 22nd August – Brixham
Monday 13th October– Southampton
Advice on careers in the marine sector for young people
We have created a page on the website for links to a huge variety of careers in the marine sector – at the end of every voyage, there will be a link to this on the back of the voyage certificates given to the young people, to give them ideas about opportunities both afloat and ashore, with options for people with different interests, skills and levels of education, and hopefully including ideas that many will never have considered, alongside the more obvious maritime roles. The page is a work in progress and we are keen to add more links, so if you have any suggestions, please send them in.
* Financial appeal
Huge thanks this week to the Peter Dixon Trust and to Lindy Chamberlain and the Royal Southern Yacht Club Trust in memory of Tony Chamberlain, for very generous donations towards bursaries.
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, bank transfer or PayPal, but please do something if you possibly can. Don’t forget that if you complete and return a Gift Aid form we can claim back tax on your donation.
Raise funds for OYT South if you’re shopping online – we’ve made over £2,400 through Easyfundraising!
“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!”
We have already raised over £2,400 through Easyfundraising – huge thanks to everyone who has used it!
OYT South social media – please share as well as liking! NB we are now on Bluesky instead of Twitter/X
If you look at the top left of any page on our website, you can click on icons for Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. We are also on TikTok.
We have now updated the social media links on our website, replacing Twitter/X with Bluesky – please come and join us there!
Please share our social media posts as widely as you can – with the help of all our supporters, this charity is doing some amazing work and we need more people to hear about it. You don’t need to do anything more than share a post, or perhaps add a comment which could be as simple as “I’ve sailed with this charity!” or “I volunteer for this charity!”.
Please note that OYT South has a policy that our adult staff and volunteers should not make or accept personal online connections 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.
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 11-25, 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 11-25 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, mate 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.