The Captain’s Daughters

Sail Training
The Captain’s Daughters all met on sail training vessels, and think its really important. Here is a brief summary of what its all about.

Sail Training benefits approximately 25,000 young people every year – and that is just in the UK! In the UK there are around 50 sail training vessels, run by charities such as the Ocean Youth Trust and Trinity Sailing to name just a couple. These sail training charities work with young adults from a variety of backgrounds, helping them gain confidence and essential life skills.  Recent research by the University of Edinburgh looking at the characteristics and value of the sail training experience highlights these points:
• Young trainees who participate in off-shore sail training programmes show measurable improvements in social confidence and their ability to work with others … and the benefits are sustained over time after the voyage experience.
• The most common reasons for young people wanting to participate in a sail training voyage are the anticipation of adventure, making new friends, seeing new places and conquering their fear of heights … with seasickness, a fear of heights, and a concern about being among strangers in a confined space the main anxieties.
• The positive value of the sail training experience transcends national and cultural boundaries and is not much influenced by the size or rig of the vessel.
If you are interested in reading more of this research, the full report can be downloaded from www.sailtraininginternational.org

The Sail Training vessels are usually run with a mix of full time paid staff, and voluntary sea-staff. Without the volunteers these sail training charities would not be able to function, and they rely heavily on a large base of well trained and enthusiastic volunteers. Many volunteers use their holiday time to work on the sailing vessels.

Representatives from ASTO remarked that one of the main difficulties in maintaining the volunteer base is that many young adults who have been involved in sail training before university often loose contact during the university years. This is a great loss, and we are hoping that through our efforts we can help to change this. There are great benefits to working as volunteers on the sail training vessels.  As volunteers students can expect to work as part of a team in challenging environments, and also gain unparalleled experience developing leadership and management skills. Volunteers are generally hardworking, motivated, quick learning and high spirited individuals. Working in these challenging and dynamic environments they must be also adaptable, responsible and excellent communicators.  Above all they must have an excellent sense of humour which won’t be dampened by hours of torrential rain – we do, after-all, mainly sail in UK waters!

We feel that The Captain’s Daughters is an instrumental tool for recruiting and maintaing a volunteers base for the sail trianing charities. Recently we were awarded the Richard Langhorn trophy for ‘the spirit of the event’ at ASTO Small Ships 2007 in Cowes for encouraging so many young people to get involved.

In this way we feel we are benefiting the sail training world in three ways -

• To provide small boat experience to young sea staff in sail training
• To encourage female sea staff
• To introduce new people to sail training

If you are interested in sail training and are not already involved, then you really should be!!! Have a look at the links to find out how and where you can get involved.

“Twenty years from now you will be more dissapointed by the things you didn’t do than those you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain

the captains daughter, the captain daughter, sailing adventure, female sailors, female sea staff, small boat experience, volunteers, sail training, STI, ASTO, association of sail training, OYT, john lang, alba venturer, alba volunteer, ocean youth trust scotland, trinity house, provident, tall ships youth trust, small ships race, RYA, yachtmaster, coastal skipper