About the Round Britain Voyage
In 2007, several people involved with the Ellen MacArthur Trust had a dream that one day they would set sail with one yacht, and a crew of young people who had previously sailed with the Trust, on a voyage of adventure around the coast of Britain, just as Ellen had done alone in her Corribee aged19. This dream started to take shape when friend and supporter Gordon Applebey, who had lent his yacht Scarlet Oyster to the Trust for the last two summers, participating himself in several trips, declared he would love the Trust to use Scarlet should this ever become reality. With a yacht secured, the idea no longer seemed like such an impossible dream, and the shape of the voyage began to emerge:
What if each leg was linked to one of the hospitals we deal with, and the young people could return to speak about their positive experiences after treatment? Understandably, some young people want to forget about their hospitalisation when in recovery, but we discovered there were many who remembered how visits or talks at their hospital when they were in treatment broke up the boredom, and were welcomed and enjoyed. Many said they would love the opportunity to enliven someone else’s hospital stay, and give them something to look forward to.
What if we could hold fundraising events at a marina or yacht club at each stopover, not only to raise awareness of the Trust, but to build relationships with local yacht clubs around the country, with a view to finding more local regular sailing for those who have sailed with the Trust, found a passion for the sea, and wanted to continue sailing once home? One of our goals is for our summer yacht trip crews to comprise of at least one person who has been in treatment and recovered, providing a positive role model for those sailing with us for the first time. The Trust has helped support our Ambassador Dan Monk through his yachtmasters so he could skipper our trips. Several other young people turned 18 this year and returned as adult volunteers. Links with yacht clubs around the country would enable us to help place the young people so they could learn and improve their sailing, returning as more experienced volunteers.
What if the young people could post up video diarys, blogs and photos of their voyage leg on a website, so their family and friends and those they have visited in hospital can follow their progress? As a voyage of inspiration, everybody needs to see the difference something as simple as sailing can make on the road to recovery.
What if we could include a sustainability project, to highlight the very real issue of conserving energy and recycling, which are vital on a yacht at sea, and promote this way of thinking to as many people as possible? After sailing round the world, Ellen saw for herself the negative impact people have on their environment, particularly the sea. As sailors it is our duty to consider the damage we can cause and strive to minimise it, highlighting this to the young people who participate, and as many people round Britain as possible.
With all these ideas in place, the Trust were devastated when Gordon Applebey, who had been so instrumental in this plan, lost his fight against cancer early in 2008. Following this, the Applebey family immediately vowed to make good on Gordons promise of Scarlet for the voyage, and although sadly Gordon would no longer be part of this incredible adventure, it became more important than ever that Round Britain would take place in Gordons memory.
The next stage, and one of the most challenging, was gaining support for the trip. After meetings with different potential partners, we received the news that Skandia were interested in becoming our title partner. After 15 years of sponsoring Cowes Week, Skandia had decided it was time to leave this event, and as the Trust had been it’s official charity, it seemed a good way to maintain their link with sailing whilst continuing their relationship with the Trust. At our fundraising Ball in August, Skandia officially announced its support of this voyage, and in doing so gave the green light needed for this dream to become reality. Soon after this, long time champions for the Trust and Ellens sponsor BT, along with the Energy Saving Trust bringing their sustainable living expertise, both came on board as supporting partners.
In May 2009, Scarlet Oyster will set sail from Cowes, IOW with five young people in recovery from cancer or leukaemia on board for the first leg of the Ellen MacArthur Trust Skandia Round Britain: Voyage of Discovery. 17 legs, 85 young people, and 41/2 months later, Scarlet will return to Cowes, having completed an amazing journey and hopefully inspired many incredible young people both in and out of treatment around the country, with a positive message of what the future can hold.
