In August of this year, 12 young carers had the most amazing experience, thanks to the Cirdan Sailing Trust and their funders.  They joined the crew of the Queen Galadriel and set sail from Falmouth on a 7 day voyage to Poole and this trip proved life changing for many.  All of the young carers benefited in so many different ways from this experience, from learning how to cook, being able to work on their own initiative, to working as part of a team and sleeping away from home, all of which helped to increase their self confidence and self belief.  New friendships blossomed and the young people had to learn tolerance and acceptance.

They were all fascinated at seeing dolphins in the wild and for being shown so many aspects of nautical navigation.  As the weather was particularly bad during the majority of the voyage, many of the children were ill and so were the Kool Carers staff and yet the resilience and compassion that they showed to each other was according to the staff “emotionally overwhelming,” not that I was surprised, as young carers are extremely resilient and compassionate individuals because of their caring responsibilities.   

Many of the children have voiced that they want to return and complete another sailing trip with Cirdan Sailing Trust, as they have nothing but praise for the crew; Louie, Sam and Charlotte, who they all felt were very approachable, informative and passionate about sailing.  Three particular young carers really excelled on the trip and their aptitude and abilities were recognised by the crew, as I understand they have all been invited back to help with other sailing projects, which was an amazing achievement for those concerned and was certainly aspirational for the others, seeing what they could potentially achieve in the future.

Thank you so much Cirdan Sailing Trust for providing our young carers with an experience I know they will treasure forever.

Rachel