Registered Charity No: 1177006
The Classic Young Sailors Foundation exists to provide financial support, sailing experiences and encouragement for young people who would not otherwise have the opportunities or funds needed to go to sea in classic and traditional boats. The Foundation helps make these opportunities available to all young people and particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Foundation’s Mission statement is:
“To provide opportunities for young people, primarily aged 16-25, and in particular those who would not otherwise have the opportunity, to benefit from the seagoing experience of sailing in classic and traditional yachts. Also to encourage and develop in the next generation a love of sailing and an appreciation of the special qualities and heritage of classic and traditional yachts.”
We are keen to encourage young people from all backgrounds to sail in our boats and take part in seagoing voyages and regattas. The personal development benefits of going to sea under sail are well known, and we believe sailing in classic boats provides a particularly good experience.
The Foundation also aims to introduce the special appeal of sailing in classic and traditional boats to young people so that an understanding and appreciation of their traditional qualities and heritage is kindled and carried forward to the next generation.
The Foundation’s support is initially in the form of bursaries to subsidise the cost of individuals sailing in accredited sail-training yachts. These may be granted either directly to the individual or to a sail-training organisation where the organisation is bringing a yacht fully crewed by young trainees to a regatta. In the future it is hoped the Foundation will be able to place young people directly on private yachts competing in events, and possibly run its own sail-training yacht in regattas by chartering or the loan of a suitable vessel. The Classic Young Sailors Foundation is funded by donations and by the modest surplus the organisers of the Classic Channel Regatta aim to make (to avoid making a loss) on each regatta – which is run on a not-for-profit basis.
The Foundation’s project for 2026 is to financially support a crew of nine young people on a two week voyage in the Island Trust’s replica Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter ‘Pegasus’ in the 2026 Classic Channel Regatta. They will be on board for fourteen days in early July, initially sailing from Plymouth to Dartmouth for two days of racing there, before racing across the English Channel to St Peter Port in Guernsey and then on to Lézardrieux and Paimpol in Brittany for a race around the Île de Bréhat. When not sailing, the crew will be fully integrated into the other activities of the regatta, and they will be in Paimpol on July 14th where Pegasus will be a highlight at the centre of the town’s Fête Nationale (Bastille Day) celebrations.
Pegasus is now French flagged and operated by Passeurs d’Iroise out of Camaret in Brittany. She will have a mixed British and French crew of trainees on board – something that adds a valuable extra cultural dimension to the experience. Never before in our lifetimes have young people had such diminished opportunities to widen their horizons and gain new and challenging experiences, and never before have life enhancing experiences such as this voyage been more needed for the physical and mental development and wellbeing of our next generation. All the young crew will be from deserving and disadvantaged backgrounds and all would not otherwise have such a great opportunity.
The cost of this voyage is largely being sponsored by the Baltic Exchange Charitable Trust which is providing a grant of £10,000. We are launching an appeal to raise the balance needed of £5,000.