TRINITY SAILING
money, whether that work is the preservation of the vessels or helping the youngsters who come on the sail training courses. “You’re absolutely right, preservation does cost a huge amount; the nature of the vessels means they do require a lot of upkeep. So what we also do is provide sailing holidays and cruises, adventure sailing for young people, RYA courses and all sorts of other sailing experiences. The revenue that comes from this underpins looking after the vessels and helps keep down the cost of sail training. The sailing holiday side of the operation is, therefore, a very important part of what we do. “The other thing is, heritage is there to be appreciated and understood and giving the general public the opportu- nity to experience that is an important way of making our maritime heritage real and tangible. Otherwise, why pre- serve these vessels for the future?” Trinity use these sailing experiences to raise awareness of the invaluable work they do with young people; so not only is there the trinity of the ves- sels in their care, there is the ‘trinity’ of heritage/preservation, working with young people and the sailing experi- ences, each of these aspects inform- ing and helping the other. A nigh-on perfect example of serendipity. Although the money raised through the holiday aspect of their charity is incredibly important, it’s nowhere near enough to keep the fleet on the water and doing the hugely important work that they do. How on earth does such a relatively small charity and, make no mistake, they are not a huge organisation, go about raising the funds to continue? “Fundraising for the charity is an
ongoing and time consuming task,” admits Toby. “As Director, my main function is that of fundraiser, although, given the size of the team, we are all often required to wear many different hats in the course of our day-to-day work. “We look at raising funds in three main ways. For capital projects to the vessels we have worked closely with the Heritage Lottery Fund. We’ve had two recent projects; the ‘Leader’ project, completed in 2012, which was an investment of over a quarter of a million pounds replacing the decks, bulwarks and stanchions of the vessel. That scale of project is really beyond
our means and coffers. Working with an organisation like the Heritage Lot- tery Fund, we can develop opportuni- ties for getting big projects off the ground and carry out other work such as education and promotion. We’ve used Heritage Lottery funding to carry out similar work on ‘Provident’ and we’re now working towards complet- ing that project too. There’s always some new project in the pipeline.” The Foundation also run a bursary scheme that enables young people, who otherwise couldn’t afford it, to ap- ply to the Trustees and get help to go on one of their sail training courses. “Through providing bursaries, we can ensure that our sail training courses are inclusive. To support the bursary scheme, we have an annual programme of fundraising via events and apply to a variety of grant-giving Trusts and
The sea is a challenging
environment, one that encourages young people to get the best out of themselves.
Foundations for their support.” Much of the sailing aspect of the
foundation’s work is based on volun- teers who work as crew during the season, alongside the regular crews and skippers. Typically, these volunteers are young people looking for a career in sailing, learning all the skills involved with sailing and conserving these huge vessels. The hope is that they will gain the appropriate knowledge to progress to a full-time career with the organisa- tion or in the industry generally.” So it’s not only the disadvantaged youngsters who learn here. Every-
one does. From carers to crew to volunteers. Interaction, self-confidence, self-belief, teamwork and friendship are all wrapped up in canvas, so to speak! “Over the winter, when we carry out the annual refit of the vessels, many hands make light work, so yes, we call upon and need, lots of volunteers to come and help do all sorts of things. We’re always delighted to hear from people. We run a series of events where people come along and can gain experience in the traditional skills involved with the upkeep of the vessels. There are lots of opportunities to help, and because we are small, even help in the office is welcome!” Trinity operate primarily from Brixham but their work, whether that be with other organisations or with the youngsters or the holidays, takes them to such diverse places as Oban (‘Leader’ will be away from her home port for four months this season), France and the Channel Islands, or more locally to places such as Salcombe, Dartmouth and Plymouth. Cruises typically last seven days and six nights, and the experience can be life-changing. Living together as part of a team on a traditional vessel, experiencing the sea in all its moods, is what Trinity is all about. The dedicated team at Trinity are ensuring their future by preserving the past and making sure that at least some of the disenfranchised youngsters with whom they work have, if nothing else, an abiding memory of an experience that will live with them and, they hope, help them in their future. So if you want to get involved, learn
more about these tall-ships or have the holiday of a lifetime, Toby and his team will always be more than happy to hear from you! You can reach them by calling 01803-883355 or emailing
team@trinitysailing.org•
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