Naval Children's Charity subsidises 'life chance' trip for naval children to sail coast of Scotland on Challenger yacht

The Naval Children’s Charity and Tall Ships Youth Trust, a youth development programme at Portsea, paid for 16 naval children to take to the seas onboard a 72ft Challenger yacht around Scotland.

The trip helped the children achieve their Royal Yachting Association (RYA) certificate while learning to sail in the process.

The young people from the Naval Children’s Charity were divided into two age groups of 12-15 and 16-25 for the two different legs.

The first for the younger cohort starting from Whitehaven for six nights and the second from Greenock to Peterhead for seven.

The trips were not plain sailing for the teams, but both overcame challenges: sailing in harsh weather, sea sickness and living in very close quarters allowed them to develop their communication, resilience and teamwork.

Clare Scherer, from the Naval Children’s Charity, said: ‘We were delighted to be able to offer this opportunity to our young people. The combination of the extraordinary experience onboard the iconic Challenger yacht, combined with meeting and bonding with other young people from naval families with shared experiences, will no doubt enhance their lives.

‘We are proud to have been able to offer this life chance to our naval children.’

James Hudson, director of fundraising and marketing at TSYT, said: ‘We were thrilled to partner with NCC for these voyages, which enabled the young people to push themselves out of their comfort zones and experience new and exciting challenges.’