In this Bulletin
Sections which have changed since last time marked *
- * Michael Campbell
- * JP’s speech
- AGM and curry night 8th November – book now – and is your membership up to date?
- Prolific maintenance day 13th October – help needed
- * Voyage news
- * Southampton International Boat Show
- Winter refit volunteer weekends – help needed!
- Shorebased training weekend February 2026 – bookings open
- 2025 individual voyage available – LAST FEW places for young people this year!
- 2026 voyages
- 2025 and 2026 adult voyages
- Fundraising event in Goodwood House on 6th November with Libby Purves – ON SALE! Details (and volunteers needed)
- Planning a gap year, or not working over the winter? Join our refit core team!
- Vessel tracking – see where Prolific is sailing!
- Chris Ellis Award – win £££s of the price of your next voyage
- * Financial appeal
- Raise funds for OYT South if you’re shopping online – we’ve made over £2,800 through Easyfundraising! Are you aware of the size of donations available?
- Kit Power Thanksgiving Service 16th October
- 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
* Michael Campbell
We were enormously sad last week to hear of the death of our Vice Patron Michael Campbell at the age of 82.
As a boy, Michael attended the school where Ocean Youth Club founder Chris Ellis was teaching. At the time of the OYC 50th anniversary celebrations which we organised in 2010, Michael wrote: “Our Family Foundation has given money {to the charity] but my connection is really via Chris Ellis who taught me at Radley and taught my son at Eton. My son was a direct contemporary of Chris’s son. I did not sail in Theodora at Radley but wish I had!! I am now Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron which I know would have elicited a wry chuckle from Chris.”
When OYT South decided that we should have a select group of Vice Patrons, Michael was an immediate choice. He was always so committed to the charity, so interested in everything we did, and so generous both with donations and with his time, advice and enthusiasm. He played a big part in the fundraising campaign to replace our previous boat, John Laing, and we well remember a gathering in London when that successfully resulted in the purchase of Prolific: Michael was absolutely thrilled by our new boat and it was wonderful to share that celebratory evening with him. He subsequently came on several day sails, attended events and was truly one of the kindest of men. He was even an avid reader of this newsletter and we would regularly hear from him about how pleased he was at some piece of news or fresh development for the charity. His family trust has been a key supporter of our Staff Mate post for a number of years and some of the last emails we received from Michael were about his enormous pleasure at hearing that Sara had passed her first mate assessment as well as previous Staff Mate Lauren returning as a relief skipper.
The next item in this newsletter is about a former young crew member making a speech on our behalf for the very first time. It was just the kind of thing that Michael would have loved, and when we saw the text of JP’s speech our first thought was to be sad that we couldn’t share it with Michael.
Michael was an Ocean Youth Trust legend and we shall miss him more than we can possibly say.
There will be a Service of Thanksgiving in due course – please let us know if you would like to be notified of the date. It would be good to have plenty of OYC / OYT representation.
* JP’s speech
A couple of years ago, former young crew member Jonathan Pinnock (JP) did a star turn for us at a fundraising event at the Royal Yacht Squadron, alongside other speakers including relief bosun Niamh Lamin. But until last week, JP hadn’t represented us solo at a speaking engagement. Have a look at the speech he did for us at a dinner for the Seven Seas Club and you will understand why we are likely to encourage him to represent us again!
JP first sailed with Ocean Youth Trust South when he was thirteen years old, as part of a group organised by a school working with young people with severe dyslexia. Here’s what he told the Seven Seas Club:
Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and thank you Ray for inviting me this evening.
My name is Jonathan Pinnock. I am a fuel dealer from landlocked West Berkshire: I like to say I am a lorry driver with a business, not businessman with lorries!
I could talk to you this evening about some of the amazing sailing I have done with OYT South: watching a winchman being lowered on the deck from a Sea King helicopter during a training exercise, or coming on watch at 3 in the morning in the middle of the North Sea and sailing into the sunrise.
Or how I built and now run a business with a multi-million pound turnover – with limited literacy skills.
But I am going to talk about my struggles with dyslexia and a very difficult time in my life.
I have battled all my life with severe dyslexia, and mainstream education almost destroyed me. As a practical person, writing pages of pointless paperwork to do Blue Peter-style design tech projects, and getting marked on the paperwork was heartbreaking. Having chatted with my 13-year-old stepson, it has not changed.
I first became interested in sailing in after doing some dinghy sailing, and my mum read me the Swallows and Amazons books, I first sailed with OYT South in 2003, on a one-week school trip from Southampton to Brixham and back again on John Laing, OYT South’s previous boat.
In one week I found a new natural environment: a place where reading and writing are only a very small part of the task – and the writing is only a logbook entry. I am judged on my ability to do the task well, not how well I write an essay about it! By the end of the week I was leading my watch, hoisting the mainsail. Leadership and communication skills learnt from sailing are something I still use in my business every day.
I have carried on being involved with OYT South for many years now as a shore-based volunteer and a donor. One of the amazing advantages of volunteering is getting to meet lots of other amazing volunteers from all walks of life – from medical students to the finance director of a large PLC.
For me, another part of sail training is the amazing friends I have made. I was really struggling back in early 2019 when my Dad was terminally ill with cancer. Me and dad had a close family, bonded closer by both being men of fuel. A weekend away, helping to clean and prepare the boat for the coming season, made an amazing difference to me. Having a weekend not thinking about cancer and the imminent heartbreak. I felt like a ton had been lifted off me.
So what made such a difference to me?
* A change from the normal.
* Having a common goal.
* Being social with other people.
* Enjoying a meal together.
* Achieving something tangible.
* Real life experiences.
* Overcoming challenges.
The effect is much the same for young people who often lack some or all these things in daily life.
Sadly with the rise of technology and the after-effects of the Covid 19 pandemic, things are getting worse! The OYT South philosophy is not about getting young people to be excellent sailors but to use sailing as personal development journey.
As someone who is now aged 37 I look at my stepchildren and see life is very different from growing up in the early 2000s. Mobile devices are as addictive as cocaine. Less children and young people have real life adventures. Luckily there are some amazing charities like OYT South that are helping young people get outside and off their devices.
Just like the Seven Seas Club I provide a bursary, for young people from West Berkshire to go sailing with OYT South; and we provide all the oils and antifreeze free of charge to the Trust.”
Afterwards the Seven Seas Club told us “In my wildest flights of fancy it could not have been better. JP was a superstar. Not only that, he is a likeable, entertaining, and charming dinner companion.”
Huge thanks, JP … ! We’ll keep the speech on the website to make it easy to share whenever anyone asks us about the lasting impact of our voyages.
AGM and curry night 8th November – book now – and is your membership up to date?
Our AGM and social evening will be 8th November – you can see the details and book your curry here.
Don’t forget that although anyone can attend the AGM, you can only vote if you are a member of the charity. If you are unsure about whether you are a member at the moment, please ask. 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.
Prolific maintenance day 13th October – help needed!
Can you help with our maintenance day on Monday 13th October in Ocean Village, Southampton? Some of the sea staff on board around that time are unable to stay for the maintenance day (thank you very much for letting us know in advance) so we are looking for a few extra helpers for the day.
Please email us if you can help. Skilled and unskilled tasks available – or maybe a chance to learn a new skill. Over-18s only, please, except for 16- and 17-year-olds who have sailed with us already and been recommended to return as volunteers – you MAY be able to attend maintenance days with the skipper’s permission depending on what jobs we are doing.
* Voyage news
Plenty to include this week as there was no newsletter last week while we were at the Southampton International Boat Show!
The last newsletter came just as young people from Bohunt Priory School in Southsea completed their voyage. Feedback included:
“I liked the trip a lot more than I thought I would and had some cool experiences. Thanks. I was working with people I didn’t know well; I learnt a lot about sailing and cooking; I learnt how to sail even if I didn’t always feel like it; and we didn’t get to go sailing on some days, but still had fun.”
“Some bits were fun, some were not, but the beds were cozy. I would do it again. Night time sailing was very cool. PS – yummy food! I feel more confident because of knowing more stuff now.”
“I think the staff here are great fun and helpful all in one. Best bit: going on the helm and driving. I worked very hard and pushed myself to the max.”
“Most memorable bit: night passage and navigation.”
“Best bit: when the boat was almost sideways! It was fun and nobody really argued.”
And from the school staff who sailed with them:
“Prolific is an excellent opportunity, staff are fantastic and it’s amazing to see the impact on our students.”
“Best bit: when we got all the sails out and were flying across the water. Most lasting memory: watching the guys sail the boat, going from not being able to do it to sailing away!
Big thanks to the sea staff, headed by Sara who was doing a practice week of skippering supported by Gotch, plus Michelle van den Berg, Nige Bush, Hilary Croft, Lizzie Miller, Sasha Taylor and Andrew Hilton.
That was followed by two day sails with sponsors, donors and other guests – out into the Solent and back with lunch on board. We had some lovely people on board, including people who have supported the charity in all sorts of ways and others who are looking at working with us in future, and it was fantastic to be able to spend time with them, show them what we can offer, exchange ideas and thank them for their support.
Feedback included:
“Thank you for a terrific day out. What a great crew. We can see that our trust’s small contributions are very well invested in Prolific.”
“You are doing an amazing job – Thank you for saving so many young lives – this boat is VERY, VERY SPECIAL: run by very very special people.”
“What a wonderful day. Thank you for showing us where our donations are used. Fantastic company and a day to remember!”
“A fabulous day – I learned much about OYT South and will spread the word. Meeting so many interesting people was so special.”
“Thank you for a quite wonderful day. Docking on return a magical manoeuvre!”
“A fabulous day, thank you very much to the amazing OYT South team. We look forward to working with you in the future :)”
“Your team looked after me so very well and I learned much from them about their roles in supporting the young people you take to sea – an impressive organisation which does so much good.”
Big thanks to sea staff Gotch, Sara, Mark, Caz, Tom Knight, Patrick Kelly, Jack Dignan, Katie Hamlet, Ben Whinnett and James Stevens.
Next came a voyage with a new client, Mulberry School for Girls in Tower Hamlets, London – where the school motto is “Confidence, creativity, leadership and love of learning”. From the moment the group arrived there was never a dull or quiet moment!
They began with introductions and safety briefings, including how to move around the boat safely with their harness lines, and a look at the chart and where they might go:
Then it was straight out to sea, heading for a buoy just off Yarmouth, in the western Solent, with people getting used to going out on the bowsprit and steering:
They arrived in time to watch a stunning sunset. Students then got a chance to admire the night sky, away from the normal light pollution in London.
The following morning they set off at 11am heading for Weymouth. Sails were set in light winds and the sun shining. The crew were in watches for a full day sailing, with each team on deck in turn to helm and keep a lookout. The crew remained cheerful with no complaints despite some feeling the effects of the sea!
By the time Weymouth was in sight the sun was setting.
The crew were up the following morning eager for breakfast followed by Happy Hour (boat cleaning) before going ashore for a couple of hours with the school staff, for showers, exploring and fun on the beach.
The next destination was Poole, but the wind was against them and they had to head 15 miles out to sea owing to a military firing exercise, so it was a longer day than they had hoped, but the young people enjoyed getting involved in the navigation:
They arrived in the dark and had a lovely dinner on board.
Next morning was an early start with breakfast under way as they motored out of Poole. Once out of the harbour, three sails were hoisted and they had an excellent sail back towards the Solent, with some practice at radar navigation through the Needles Channel.
They motored towards Cowes but then had a session on manoeuvring under sail (tacking and gybing) before entering Cowes in the late afternoon. They had some shore time to explore Cowes and a chance to work towards their sailing qualifications, including practising their knots:
The young people were tasked with planning the navigation to get them back to Ocean Village in the dark:
All the young people did a superb job of taking command of Prolific, navigating, helming and keeping lookout. Their communication, engagement and control were superb, and they did have full command of the navigation and steering – the sea staff were only there to support. They arrived in Ocean Village at midnight and did a quick tidy of the boat before bed.
Next morning they were up at 0700 for a breakfast of eggs and mushrooms before packing their bags and cleaning the boat. The group then gathered around for a reflection on the trip and what they had all achieved before leaving at 1100 to head back to London.
They had completed 125 miles at sea and you can see their full voyage track here.
The group more than lived up to their school motto!
Feedback included:
“It was a wonderful experience and I had a lovely time learning new things.”
“I really loved this experience and loved trying out new things and would recommend this experience to everyone. Best bit: The navigation, and standing on front of the boat with the waves. Most lasting memory: I enjoyed everything, new people, new experiences. I enjoyed being hands on.”
“I enjoyed this trip as I loved the view and learnt lots of skills that can help with my future. Best bit: watching the stars on the first day.”
“Most lasting memory: constant laughing.”
“I learnt lots of stuff and will use them in any similar experiences, this was a great load of fun.”
“Best bit: sailing at night-time, and sitting in the net at the front.”
“It was a challenging experience where I learnt many things about a voyage but overall it was fun. Best bit: the overall experience of living on a boat and getting to meet new people. Most lasting memory: navigating, and jumping when the waves came.”
“I loved the opportunity and was my first residential in school and I’d love to do anything that was to do with boats/ocean.”
“Thanks to all the watch keepers for the amazing stories and dealing with my loud friends.”
And from the school staff who sailed with them:
“Thank you for a fantastic voyage: students and staff learnt so much & will take away unforgettable skills & experiences. Best bit: seeing how well all the girls all got on, never seen a group work so well. There were no hassles between anyone.”
“Best bit: seeing everyone work together and pull together. Natural leaders managed to motivate each other and keep spirits high even when things got a little bit difficult.”
Big thanks to sea staff Mark, Sara, Josh, Glyn Collins, Graeme Findlay and special congratulations to Sasha Taylor, one of last winter’s core refit team, who passed a third mate assessment, and Vaughan Marsh, Chief Instructor Sail and Motor Cruising at the Royal Yachting Association, who was signed off to become a welcome addition to our team of relief skippers!
To finish a very busy September we had the Vyne School in Basingstoke, one of our very longstanding clients, joining for a three-night voyage with a mixed group of 12–14-year-olds and two members of staff.
It was all go-go-go from the moment that the group joined as welcomes and safety briefs were quickly dispatched to get out on the water and make the most of the wind. After leaving Southampton, Prolific motored down Southampton Water while winch drills were completed. Mizzen and staysail were hoisted and young people steered or went out on the bowsprit.
They picked up the buoy outside Yarmouth and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. Everyone then gathered around the big saloon table to enjoy pasta and meatballs. By now the excitement of the day was catching up with everybody so it was an early night for everyone.
Everyone was up before daybreak the following morning to get the boat ready as the plan was to sail around the Isle of Wight. The early start was rewarded with a chance to watch the sunrise.
The buoy was slipped at 0700 and they headed towards The Needles on the western tip of the Isle of Wight. Breakfast of croissants and pain au chocolate made the early start even more worthwhile. Some of the sea staff did a navigation exercise out of the Needles channel.
Despite some swell out of the Solent, the crew hoisted the staysail and made for St. Catherine’s Point, the most southernmost point on the island which is marked with a lighthouse. The wind filled in to make for a good sail. Unfortunately, the weather turned into a grey drizzly day but some of the young people remained on deck to enjoy the sail while others felt the effects of the sea and had to retire to their bunks. One young person claimed it was the best nap of their life!
Once reaching St Catherine’s Point the engine was put on to make good speed back towards the Solent, and the swell calmed as they skirted along the eastern coast of the island. Everyone was back on deck by the time the Nab Tower, which is used to guide ships of all sizes into the deep water channel for Portsmouth and Southampton, was in sight. A calmer sea had bought the crew’s appetites back with many of the crew enjoying lunch on deck. After lunch the crew got involved with lots of boat duties including steering and helping to drop the sails. One of the sea staff safely navigated Prolific towards Portsmouth and into Gunwharf Quays, the home of the Spinnaker Tower, just inside the harbour.
Once alongside the crew had Happy Hour (boat cleaning) duties before some shore leave and showers. Dinner had a Moroccan theme with tagine on the menu. Despite a long day the young people still had some energy for games including ‘slaps’, After Eights and moo-offs:
The following morning it was a slower start to the day with the aim after breakfast to head for Stokes Bay, west of Portsmouth harbour. Two man overboard recovery drills were completed on the way before anchoring in the sunshine off the bay. Some RYA Start Yachting theory was taught before fish fingers for lunch! After lunch the anchor was raised and they headed back towards Southampton Water. On the way back each watch took turns to navigate back to Ocean Village, our home port, while the other watches were kept busy learning knots, parts of the boat and venturing out onto the bowsprit.
Once back in port the deck was tidied, dinner was cooked and banana bread was baked. After disco washing up the group played more games and laughed a lot too before heading for bed. The following morning it was time for a sum up of the trip, packing and final clear up before the crew departed.
They had sailed 98 miles and you can see their complete voyage track here.
Feedback included:
“Probably the best thing that’s happened … Loved the sunset and being with my mates. Best bit: steering the boat which was pretty good, I liked the disco, that was good as well. Most lasting memory: watching the sunset, that was really nice.”
“I love this moment & I love watching the sunset on the boat. I love finding out ways to tie knots. Best bit: going on the bowsprit and having fun and pushing my limits. Worst bit: nothing to be honest, it was all fun.”
“I liked how they encouraged me to learn out of my comfort zone when I went on the bowsprit.”
“Best bit: having to take part in everything.”
“I really loved trying out something new and learning new skills.”
“Best bit: learning how to tie new knots and do other stuff that I haven’t done before.”
And from the school staff who came with them:
“This is the second time on the vessel as a member of school staff and I love watching how this experience helps young people gain confidence in themselves and their abilities. As an added bonus I have learnt loads and improved my skills too. Getting to drive the boat, that was really fun and also doing washing up disco! Most lasting memory: being out on deck and seeing the beautiful weather, especially yesterday and seeing these guys doing an amazing job at pulling lines in and tying knots and trying really hard. it was amazing.”
“Had a really great time – never been on the water like this – loved it. Very impressed with patience and support provided to young people. Very good skills demonstrated. Brilliant. Best bit: watching [one of the students] do the winch – the day before when we’d been not very good and not really knowing – and then she was really confident doing it and suddenly everything came into focus, that this is the point of what we’re all doing here, and that was very good.”
Big thanks to the sea staff: another very welcome return for Lauren as skipper, plus Josh, Cathy Lacey, Jack Thompson, Sandy Garrity, Si Brammer and Peter Taylor.
Now we are sailing with Bruern Abbey School but we will include their voyage report in the next issue.
* Southampton International Boat Show
Several OYT South staff and volunteers visited the Boat Show in the last couple of weeks – a fantastic event run by one of our Trustees, Lesley Robinson. We had a chance to catch up with lots of our suppliers to thank them for their support or to discuss our upcoming requirements; and we also met plenty of friends of the charity.
For those of you who are into reality TV series about superyachting, you may like to know that we also met Captain Jason from Below Deck Down Under and were able to tell him about OYT South:
Winter refit volunteer weekends – help needed!
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!
There won’t be a refit weekend in February because we have the training weekend. There will be a refit weekend in March and lots of help needed to get all the kit back on board and put everything back together, but we’ll announce the dates for that in due course/
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!
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
2025 individual voyage available – LAST FEW places for young people this year!
Our 2025 programme still has a few exciting opportunities to join us this year on the ONE remaining voyage with spaces – please spread the word!
29 Oct – 2 Nov, Southampton, 4 nights, age 11-25, £545 per person – half term -– up to 3 places available tbc.
Other voyages are all fully-booked but there is always the possibility of a cancellation, perhaps even at the last minute if someone is ill, for example. So do please let us know if you would like to go on a mailing list to be contacted about short-notice vacancies.
Email voyageadmin@oytsouth.org to ask about individual bookings.
2026 voyages
Do you know a school or youth club or another organisation which might like an exclusive booking for 12-15 people?
The 2026 programme is now available on the website but at this early stage it is still subject to changes. If you are interested in a 2026 booking, please ask.
2025 and 2026 adult voyages
This year’s October adult weekend (10-12 Oct, Southampton) now has a waiting list – email for details or to be added to the list.
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!
Fundraising event in Goodwood House on 6th November with Libby Purves – NOW ON SALE!
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.
Planning a gap year, or not working over the winter? Join our refit core team!
If you are planning a gap year, or you are between jobs or for any other reason potentially available for several weeks or months this winter, might you be interested in joining our full-time refit team? We will need a couple of full-time volunteers between November and March. More details here. Plenty of our previous refit volunteers have gone on to great jobs in the marine industry – it really helps to have maintenance experience as well as good sailing skills when applying for sailing jobs! And any refit volunteers who want to sail in Prolific can be offered berths as watchleaders, bosuns, or relief engineers. So it’s a great way of developing useful experience, contributing to a good cause, securing free food and accommodation for a few months, and having a positive experience with a fun group of people! If you’re interested, please read the web page and email us with the details requested at the bottom of the page.
We’ll also need lots of casual volunteers helping for a day, a few days or a weekend, but we can get people booked in for that much nearer the time – at this stage we are really just thinking about the core team.
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
Huge thanks this week to the Ellis Campbell Foundation (Michael Campbell’s family charity) for a very kind donation to the Staff Mate salary. This was the last year of a three-year grant which has made an enormous difference to us, allowing us to employ two outstanding individuals and also supporting the career development of Lauren and Sara.
Enormous thanks also to the DCR Allen Trust for a generous donation to bursaries for young people who couldn’t otherwise afford to sail; to Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers for a fantastic donation following a recent day sail; to the Honourable Company of Master Mariners for another pledge towards Staff Mate funding; to the Association of Sail Training Organisations for the latest Hammond Innes bursary grant; and to all those who make small but regular donations to us, including Catharine Sillett. Taskforce, Jonathan Pinnock, Dr Stuart Harrison, Hilary Croft, Penelope Sykes, Isaac Jones, John Hunt, Fred Cole, Julian Biggs and Matt Lovett.
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 £2,800 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 £2,800 through Easyfundraising – huge thanks to everyone who has used it!
Kit Power Thanksgiving Service 16th October
Recently we were sad to announce the death at the age of 91 of Kit Power, the last of the group who established the Ocean Youth Club in the 1960s and still a great supporter of OYT South right up to the last few months.
A Thanksgiving Service for Kit will be held at St John’s Church, West Meon, Hampshire, at 2:30pm on Thursday 16th October 2025. All welcome and it would be lovely to see lots of OYC / OYT people there. You can find more details here and a link to click to tell the family you are coming.
You will also see that the family is very kindly raising funds in memory of Kit to create The Kit Power OYT South Bursary so that we can offer more places on board Prolific for young people who could not otherwise afford to sail.
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.