The first crew of volunteers from across Newark and Sherwood has sailed from Portsmouth to Plymouth as part of the YMCA Tall Ships Adventure

Last Friday, the first crew set sail as part of the YMCA Tall Ships Adventure – a relay-style sailing challenge around the UK coastline.

In partnership with the Tall Ships Youth Trust, volunteers from across Newark and Sherwood are taking it in turns to sail a racing yacht around the UK until October 18, all to raise money for YMCA Newark and Sherwood’s Community and Activity Village. The trip is being funded by BNA charity, meaning every penny raised goes to the YMCA Village.

The first crew, sailing from Portsmouth to Plymouth, included nine young people from Magnus Church of England Academy, and their teacher Mrs Metheringham – all of whom were sailing for the first time.

Some of the youngsters from the crew shared some of their experiences taking to the water for the first time.

Josh and Lyas says: “It was 3:45am and my Mam comes running into my room, this can only mean one thing! The experience of a lifetime! We got on the mini-bus and left Newark at 4:30am, and when we arrived at Portsmouth we had a safety briefing and got a tour of the ship.

“On our first day we travelled approximately 33 nautical miles. During this time, we set up the kit and set sail! I loved every minute of it, even my landscaping skills came in handy when I had to climb the 95ft mast. Also I enjoyed it when we were coming towards shore, and me and Lyas had to look for lobster nets. Tomorrow will be even more fun and even more challenging as we aim to get 10 nautical miles more than we did today. This is the opportunity of a lifetime, thank you to everyone for making this what it is – it’s awesome!”

Klaudia says: “Today, we started off right after breakfast which was quite early. After sailing for a bit we put up the sails and minutes after that the water got really difficult and the waves crashed more and more against the boat.

“After we did our second tack, we directed the ship to the closest port. As soon as we got there, we took showers and cleaned up the boat both upstairs and downstairs.

“Afterwards, Lucy, Evie, Alfred, Amy, Jasmine, Carla, Savannah and I went to get some ice cream which was an adventure in itself as we couldn’t find where to buy them at!

“Later, we were cutting up vegetables while Evie and Lucy were getting them cooked on the stove. In the time that we were doing that, Jasmine managed to drop her phone in the water! It was then gone, as it sunk right away. A couple minutes later the food was ready, so we sat down to eat. The rest of the day was really chilled as we sat and spent some time all together talking and laughing.”

A YMCA spokesman confirmed that Crew One came into their final port in Plymouth safely on Monday.

They said: “The trip was not always plain sailing, but the young sailors battled seasickness and nerves with enthusiasm and resilience.”

The next leg of the trip will set sail yesterday, where a group of young people who were formerly homeless will be sailing from Plymouth to Cardiff.

Source: Newark Advertiser