HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE OCEAN YOUTH TRUST SOUTH’S CAMPAIGN #SAILTOWELLBEING?
The Ocean Youth Trust are a charity working to promote personal development in young people aged 12 to 26 years old. They use a 30-metre ship Prolific, which was built in 2005. These young crew members help to sail the boat, keep watch and help with all activities onboard! Their #SailToWellbeing campaign is centred around five steps, promoted by the NHS and MIND, which can help to improve your mental heath and wellbeing. This is always very important, but particularly as we all have likely spent a lot of time away from the water this year.
The five steps are:
- Connect
- Be active
- Take notice
- Learn
- Give
These are all natural parts of a sail training trip, so joining OYTS on one of their voyages is a great way to help yourself and also try something new!
1) Connect. For young people, sailing with OYTS can be a brilliant way to meet people who are from different areas of the UK or different backgrounds, and can really help to build confidence. OYTS works with many different charities and associations who help young people who might have spent time in care, have medical conditions that impact their daily lives, or those whose siblings have complex medical conditions – as well as many others. The great team atmosphere on board, learning together and having responsibility for looking after the boat can be a life-changing experience.
2) Be Active. You can’t avoid being active onboard a Tall Ships voyage! There is always something to be done on board and everything you do have a real purpose and an impact. However, OYTS accommodates for all onboard, including those who have physical or learning difficulties, so voyages can be tailored for anyone.
3) Take Notice. This really just means that you should try to be more present in the moment, and take notice of your feelings and those of the people around you. This can help you to enjoy activities more and change the way you approach challenges and different scenarios!
4) Learn New Skills. Being on a Tall Ship is the perfect opportunity to learn new skills in an environment quite different to what most young people are used to! You can also learn or improve lots of transferable life skills on board, such as confidence, teamwork and communication with others on board, as well as learning to look at problems in a different, more positive way.
5) Give to Others. Acts of kindness and charity to others is really good for your mental health and can make you feel like what you do makes a difference. On board a tall ship, that could be anything from helping with ropes and activity needed on board, tutoring others if you are more experienced, or even just stopping to have a chat if something is feeling a bit down or stressed.
To find out more about Ocean Youth Trust, click here: http://www.oytsouth.org/how-to-sail-with-us.asp
