In this Bulletin
Sections which have changed since last time marked *
- * AGM and curry night 8th November – curry booking deadline NEXT WEDNESDAY!
- Winter refit – help needed to clear the boat 8th & 9th November
- Goodwood House event NEXT THURSDAY 6th November with Libby Purves – tickets still available!
- * Voyage news
- Shorebased training weekend February 2026 – bookings open
- 2026 voyages – bookings open for groups and individuals
- 2026 adult voyages
- Vessel tracking – see where Prolific is sailing!
- Chris Ellis Award – win £££s of the price of your next voyage
- * Financial appeal
- Michael Campbell – thanksgiving service details 17th November
- Raise funds for OYT South if you’re shopping online – we’ve made over £2,700 through Easyfundraising! Are you aware of the size of donations available?
- 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
AGM and curry night 8th November – curry booking deadline NEXT WEDNESDAY!
If you want to join the curry after the AGM, please note that you MUST book and pay in advance – deadline 9am next Wednesday 5th November!
The mailing with the formal notice of the AGM, with the agenda, candidates for election and so on, has gone out. If you are eligible to vote at the AGM then you should have received it – contact the office if you haven’t got it but think you should have been on the list.
It’s not too late to join and become a voting member if you are not already. You can pay your membership fee here – either as a non-sailing membership, or as part of your annual mates’ fee for sailing volunteers. There are reduced rates for under-25s, and sailing volunteers of any age who can’t afford to pay their annual fee can talk to us about bursary support – no-one should be deterred from sailing as a watchleader or bosun by the cost. But anyone who is regularly involved with the charity ought to be a member, able to have a say at the AGM, elect the Trustees and influence the future direction of the charity.
The AGM is open to anyone (though only members can vote) – all welcome. It’s in Southampton on 8th November – you can see the details (and book your curry) here.
Winter refit – help needed to clear the boat 8th & 9th November
Dates for your diary! We’ll be looking for help on refit weekdays but for those of you who can only come at weekends, these are the dates when we’re currently planning for the team to be working and needing loads of support:
8th and 9th November (AGM weekend) – lots of volunteers needed to clear the boat for refit, get sails off and so on.
29th and 30th November – aiming for this to be topside painting and capping rail repairs
17th and 18th January – no specific jobs list yet… watch this space!
7th and 8th March – post-refit clean, and sails and kit back on board
There won’t be a refit weekend in February because we have the training weekend.
Email refit@oytsouth.org if you can help. Refit volunteers should generally be aged 18+ but if you are 16 or 17 and have already received a recommendation to come back and train as a volunteer, it’s always worth asking as we may be able to include you.
No experience needed – plenty of unskilled jobs and plenty of skilled jobs which we can teach you!
Goodwood House event NEXT THURSDAY 6th November with Libby Purves – tickets still available!
Come and join us on 6th November at 7pm for this amazing event – BOOK NOW and please spread the word. We want to sell lots of tickets!
Goodwood is the seat of the Dukes of Richmond whose family art collection is one of the greatest in any English country house. You will be able to enjoy drinks and canapes, and visit the State Apartments as well as enjoying a talk by renowned journalist, broadcaster and author Libby Purves. If you saw Libby’s recent article in the Times about us, you will know that she is passionate about sail training. But there is a special reason why Libby is speaking at this event.
The entire evening has been set up by our great friends at Ned’s Fund, who have made many generous contributions towards the cost of voyages for young people who couldn’t otherwise afford to sail. They support a number of different charities but this year’s Goodwood event is all for OYT South. Ned’s Fund was set up in memory of a brilliant young man who took his own life in 2017. Libby also lost her son, Nicholas, to suicide in 2006, when he was 23. Nick was a lovely and talented person and a great sailor who had done a voyage with OYT South in our previous boat, John Laing.
So the combination of Ned’s Fund, Libby Purves and OYT South will make for a very special and unmissable evening. Tickets now available for £45 per person!
Thanks to those who have volunteered to help at this event – at the moment we have enough volunteers but if you really want to come and can’t afford a ticket, email caroline.white@oytsouth.org and we can see what might be possible.
* Voyage news
The last newsletter came out just as Costello School, Basingstoke, was finishing their voyage. They had a lot of fun in spite of Storm Benjamin which kept them in harbour for a day of their voyage.
Feedback included:
“It was way better than I expected. The staff are the best.”
“I really enjoyed this trip. The sailing was really fun and informative as well as a good selection of activities, Crew were lovely and welcoming. Best bit: Being able to steer the boat and being on the bowsprit.”
“I loved going on the bowsprit and reefing. Hope I can come back soon.”
“I really enjoyed going on the boat. I also liked going to Cowes because I had never been there before.”
“I enjoyed putting up the sails and mooring up. I also enjoyed hanging out with my friends.”
“It was so fun and interesting, I had lots of new experiences. Best bit: lunch at anchor because the pasties were really good.”
“Boat + food + sailing + biscuits + bed + movie + Cowes + sailing + jerky = good.”
“Enjoy, respect, achieve. It was really good when we sailed on the boat. I also liked going to Cowes, it was a really fun trip.”
“It was really fun. I liked the activities (sailing, cookie decor, pumpkin).”
“It was fun steering and sailing. We went to Cowes. Enjoy, respect, achieve.”
And from one of the staff who sailed with them: “I had a fantastic time. Staff are all wonderful and great at teaching sailing!”
Big thanks to sea staff Constantinos, Andrew Wilkes, Nige Bush, Andrew Page, Iori Kent, Aoife Harrington and Anna Owen.
Next came a voyage with Testbourne School, who joined on Friday evening in order to make the most of the first half of half-term – it meant they could get through some introductions and briefings before bed, and got up next morning with only a few more briefings needed before they could set sail – including a look at the chart and where they were headed:
It was a windy blustery day with rain showers, gusts of wind and a cold northerly airflow. They sailed on a beam reach to Lymington, putting a few tacks in and giving people the chance to get used to being on the helm or going out on the bowsprit:
They finished the sailing day by executing a man overboard drill and heading into Lymington under a rainbow.
That evening after dinner they played some games and then went to bed. On Sunday morning the young people had a guided tour of Lymington by one of our sea staff who lives there and was able to tell them all about the history of the place.
They set off again at midday and hoisted the sails. It was a similar day to the previous one but with less rain! They had lunch underway and sailed downwind to Portsmouth with lots of gybes. Once they arrived it got dark quickly due to the clocks changing the night before! They had dinner and played more games.
They spent some time on Monday morning covering the theory sections of their RYA Start yachting qualifications: knots, weather, parts of the boat, points of sail and safety equipment. The young people then planned a voyage from Portsmouth back to our berth in Southampton:
They set off and saw the sunset before executing their pilotage in the dark. The young people did a fantastic job showing excellent teamwork, and really enjoyed this challenge.
The voyage ended next morning after 78 miles and you can see their voyage track here.
Feedback included:
“I had never sailed before and had no idea what to do, but by the end of our 5 days the crew (us) were sailing and controlling the boat!”
“The best bit was cooking because I haven’t cooked a full meal [before]”
“The best bit was exploring Lymington and the most memorable was the night sail and the least favourite was being sea sick.”
“I loved lookout because it was a good view and I learnt about lots of different boats.”
“I loved steering and knots (surprisingly) and sailing in general. Best bit: when we were all navigating together.”
“Best bit: seeing the boat for the first time, it was amazing.”
“Best bit: seeing the views and seeing the huge ships, that was really cool.”
“I liked going to different ports and also working and sleeping in one place.”
“I enjoyed sailing and living on Prolific. Best bit: navigating from Portsmouth to one of the buoys.”
And from the staff member who sailed with them:
“Fantastic four-night voyage – the sea staff team and skipper have all been so fantastic with the students – patient, kind, and funny. Thanks for providing us all with some unforgettable days … Great to come with a group from school and see how well they have done, see how some quieter characters have come out of their shells and grown in confidence.”
Big thanks to sea staff Constantinos, Miranda Camping Bunton, Nige Bush, Rois Smith, Iori Kent, Erin Misselbrook and special congratulations to one of our Trustees, Andrew Page, who completed his second mate assessment:
Our final youth voyage of 2025 is with a mixed group of individual bookings to finish off half term.
After briefings on the first evening, they left Ocean Village in the dark and motored to Lymington. They arrived at 7pm and it was pitch black – the crew had to illuminate unlit buoys during the pilotage in and then had to shine a torch on an unlit yellow buoy during the park as it was right next to the pontoon! It was so dark it was hard to see the pontoon.
The following morning after happy hour they went ashore for showers and then set off into a forecast for 30-35 knots with orc and mizzen, but the wind never came! The highest gust they had was 22 knots. So they were able to get used to steering and sail handling:
They did a man overboard recovery drill over Ryde Middle Bank:
Then they dropped sails and headed for Trinity Landing in Cowes, docking just as it was getting dark.
They had dinner and then some chill time with card games. The young people enjoyed spending time with each other and getting to know new friends. A lovely group that is gelling well! This voyage will finish on Sunday and we’ll include their feedback in the next issue.
Big thanks to sea staff Constantinos, Sara, Tom Knight, Glyn Collins, Orla Cronin, Roisin Smith and Erin Misselbrook.
Looks like people are keeping cheerful in spite of a complicated weather forecast!
Shorebased training weekend February 2026 – bookings open
Next year’s OYT South training weekend for staff and volunteers will run from 7pm on Friday 6th February to 4.30pm on Sunday 8th February at a new venue, Foxlease Park, Clay Hill, Lyndhurst, Hampshire, SO43 7DE. As last year, all accommodation and meals will be available on site. Accommodation will be in bunk rooms.
This weekend is open to current staff and volunteers as well as new volunteers who have started the process of getting involved with us and are hoping to sail on our voyages next year.
See here for details and booking form.
Saturday 7th February
0900 – Welcome / housekeeping
0930 – Youth Mental Health First Aid Awareness
1230 – Lunch
1330 – Behaviour Buddy – strategies for managing behaviour
1430 – Office update (Booking system/ membership consultation)
1530 – Tea/coffee Break
1600 – Safeguarding
1700 – Free time
Sunday 8th February
0900 – First Aid OR Sail Repair (these are both full-day courses)
1230 – Lunch
1330 – First Aid OR Sail Repair continued
1630 – Finish
Time TBC – GMDSS
GMDSS involves an online course which MUST be completed in advance, followed by a short practical session and exam on the day, to get your radio licence.
Price list
This year we have simplified things – instead of a separate price for every course, meal and overnight stay, we can offer all-inclusive prices as well as some separate options. The booking form is available here, but prices are shown below for information.
Whole weekend including sail repairs – £120
Whole weekend including first aid – £150
Day rate (including lunch) – £50
Day rate plus dinner and evening – £65
Just First Aid (including lunch) – £80
GMDSS – £40 course fee plus separate exam fee (cost tbc – currently £76 but it may increase in January) payable to the RYA
Optional add-ons
Bedding and towels – £7
Friday evening meal – £5
2026 voyages – bookings open for groups and individuals
Do you know a school or youth club or another organisation which might like an exclusive booking for 12-15 people? Are you looking for an individuals’ voyage in the summer holidays?
The 2026 programme is now available on the website and there is an availability list here. If you are interested in a 2026 booking, please ask.
2026 adult voyages
2026 adult weekends are open for bookings:
24-26 April 2026, Southampton, 2 nights, age range 18+, £270 per person, adult weekend voyage (Friday evening to Sunday evening)
9-11 Oct 2026, Southampton, 2 nights, age range 18+, £270 per person, adult weekend voyage (Friday evening to Sunday evening)
These weekends are ideal for people who want to find out more about the possibility of volunteering with us – but you are also welcome if you simply want to come along and enjoy a sail on board Prolific!
Vessel tracking – see where Prolific is sailing !
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.
Chris Ellis Award – win £££s of the price of your next voyage
Open for 2025 entries.
If you have enjoyed 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 one of the charity’s founders. You can also see some previous winning entries.
* Financial appeal
Big thanks this week to Andrew Wilkes and Chris Lane for very generous donations!
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.
Michael Campbell – thanksgiving service 17th November
We recently reported the death of our lovely vice patron Michael Campbell. There will be a Thanksgiving Service for Michael’s life in Winchester Cathedral at 11am on Monday 17th November. All OYT / OYC people very welcome but his office is trying to keep a track of numbers so if you wish to attend, please confirm to office@elliscampbell.co.uk.
Raise funds for OYT South if you’re shopping online – we’ve made over £2,700 through Easyfundraising! Are you aware of the size of donations available?
We mention Easyfundraising in the newsletter each week and we’re really grateful to those people who are using it regularly, but there must be people who haven’t looked at it, or often don’t remember to do it.
Here’s what it DOESN’T do:
- Require you to buy from sources you wouldn’t normally use
- Take lots of time
- Ask you to do anything complicated at all!
- Produce donations so small you would barely notice
- Cost you a penny!
You simply have to buy whatever you already planned to buy online, from whoever you choose to shop with – but having signed up with Easyfundraising, just click to accept a donation if it’s offered when you shop. It’s often a percentage, which means the donations can be really significant for bigger items – a holiday, a flight, an expensive train ticket etc. For example, one volunteer got a £17 donation when renewing their home insurance. Someone else earned nearly £10 from a VistaPrint order. A few donations like that from a hundred supporters and it starts looking like a really significant total each year.
Do tell us if you’ve got a really good donation from something you bought – these stories help to inspire others. Maybe you even order things online for business purposes and your employer would agree to donate to us like this – at no cost to them but a way to feel good every time they need new boxes of business cards or train tickets to get staff to a conference!
It takes a minute or two to sign up to Easyfundraising: 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, often including the site you would normally choose to use for all your rainbow unicorn requirements – and it doesn’t cost you anything, you pay the same price you would pay anyway.
PLEASE click the link now and sign up!
We have already raised over £2,700 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.