Offering sail trips as a way to improve life skills, knowledge and attitudes
22 March 2017
For these cooperators navigating is more than a transportation system. Based in Chichester and stablished on 2009, the Sail Boat Project is a worker cooperative providing a range of learning activities based around sailing. Aimed to widen access to the sea, offering sail training onboard, navigation training on land, using these activities to increase confidence and a sense of wellbeing in marginalised coastal communities. The cooperative also offers sail trips to cross the channel, do some birdwatching and offers sailing holidays giving the chance to experience life onboard with a whole range of possible destinations.
“We see sailing as a tool to improve life skills, knowledge and attitudes. We offer a flexible approach, tailored to fit with different project’s existing outcomes. We work hard to meet different learning needs and we are continually developing our resources for use with the whole range of people who come out on the water with us”, says from the cooperative. The cooperators take care about the surrounding are & their environment: the water. “
We travel by wind power as much as possible! Our training vessels have renewable energy onboard, wind turbines and solar panels. We use eco-friendly non-biocide foul-release paint for our hull.
We provide UK-based sailing holidays and training so people don’t need to fly abroad”, insists Dhara Thompson, the Member Director. In 2015, 177 people sail with the coop, over 130 boat days, sailing 3500 nautical miles and issuing 70 Royal Yachting Association qualifications. Also another three self-employed non-member skippers.
In 2015/2016 the cooperative carried out a number of sailing trips with members of the Recovery Project from addictions.
This was done voluntarily and then we successfully Crowdfunded to cover the costs of more sessions, which had a huge impact on people from the group. Some of what previous participants said: “We all had to work together as a team, look out for each other, it was amazing! I want to help out with maintenance.” More information here