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 Young Canadian sailors learn the importance of drinking tea with UK Sail Training vessel.
Two girls from Canada aged 16 and 18 joined the UK vessel John Laing to take part in Leg 1 of The Tall Ships Races, racing from Antwerp to Aalborg in July. They described the experience as “Fantastic” and said “We have made so many new friends and learnt about different types of ships that we didn’t even know existed!”
The girls are part of an exchange programme organised by ASTO and funded by the James Myatt Memorial Trust.
Trish Jennett (16) and Kate Van Welter (18) usually sail on brigantines, which are traditional square-rigged vessels, and had never before sailed a modern vessel like the John Laing. However they learned more than just new sailing techniques, they also learned about the British culture of Sail Training – and were quite surprised at how often they heard the phrase “Let’s have tea”!
The exchange programme takes place every year and in late August two young British sailors will fly to Canada to sail with Toronto Brigantine. The ethos is to develop - through international experiences - the skills and knowledge of young people who are training to lead and mentor other young people on adventurous sailing voyages. OYT South which operates the John Laing believes that all the staff on the boat - not just the young visitors - benefit from the exchange because of the opportunity to witness and discuss cultural similarities and differences.
The James Myatt Memorial Trust was set up in 1984 by friends in memory of a man who was instrumental in setting up various sail training organisations in the UK during the 1960s and a strong supporter of The Tall Ships Races. In addition to funding the Canadian Exchange they provide bursaries to young people to take part in Sail Training voyages www.jmmt.org.uk. |