Adventures take to the seas with Olympic kitesurfing trainer Maddy Anderson

A group of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds were given the opportunity to sail alongside renowned British kitesurfer and Olympic trainer Maddy Anderson after working hard to develop their skills on a Voyage of Exploration with Tall Ships Youth Trust (TSYT).

In an empowering effort to reshape and redefine their horizons, the crew made up of young people aged 12-25 went through life-changing adventures at sea, sailing over two million nautical miles with TSYT – equivalent to sailing around the world 92 times.

Tall Ships Youth Trust is a youth development and outdoor learning charity. Out on the ocean, TSYT empowers young people to realise their full potential, supporting them on their journeys into adulthood and for some, careers in the maritime sector and the blue economy.

To achieve this, TSYT operates its four iconic 72ft Challenger yachts and 55ft ketch vessel all year round, enabling more than 1,000 young people nationwide to experience its life-changing residential voyages. 

The latest voyage of this partnership saw 10 young people from Wiltshire Young Carers and Splash Targeted Youth Support Services have this incredible experience.

The crew was joined by British Women’s Kite Foiling Team member Maddy for the final leg of their voyage on Friday 27 October.

Maddy described her time on board one of TSYT’s 72ft Challenger yachts as a “really special morning”, after joining the voyage in Warsash and playing a hands-on role in the home stretch to Portsmouth.

The kitesurfer also sat down with the young people on Challenger 3 for a Q&A session about her formative experiences in sailing and the lessons she has learned on her journey to earning international acclaim and becoming part of Team GB’s training squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Maddy said: “These young people have clearly had a really fun week, they’ve been really friendly to chat to and they had some great questions for me. I think they will all take different things away from this week, but they’ve clearly worked super well together and it’s really nice to see them working as a team on something that is completely different to everyday life.”

During her time on board, Maddy assisted the crew with activities such as hoisting and stowing the sails, navigating and steering, tying knots and preparing the Challenger to make its final docking of the voyage.

One of YAW’s young leaders, 14-year-old Will said: “It’s been awesome to see some brilliant teamwork going on within the group, especially from those who were quite hesitant to put themselves out there at first but were then able to go forward.

“Having someone like Maddy who has a background in sailing come and see what we’re working towards has been brilliant. She’s given us some great insight into the world of sailing and if anyone is interested in moving forward with sailing, they now have her as a role model.”

As a member of the British Sailing Team, Maddy has benefited from funding from The National Lottery. TSYT and YAW have also previously received lottery funding, enabling both charities to continue providing life-changing support to young people.

Over the past 67 years, the TSYT programme has seen more than 120,000 young people benefit from a transformational journey.

All 10 young people on board earned their Start Yachting qualification from the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), Leadership award from the Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network (ASDAN), as well as successfully completing the first stage of TSYT’s three-voyage programme.

To find out more about Tall Ships Youth Trust’s work, visit https://www.tallships.org/