Young women sail across the North Sea
Tomorrow
(28 July) fifty girls and young women are set to sail across the
North Sea on four Challenger racing yachts chartered by Girlguiding
North East England.
The participants will form an all-female crew
for the seven-day journey, which runs from Hartlepool to
Scheveningen in Holland and finishes at Portsmouth Harbour.
The trip aims to give young women the
opportunity to learn skills such as navigation, night sailing and
hauling ropes whilst developing their team-building abilities and
self-confidence.
Hilary Cooper, Chief Commissioner for
Girlguiding North East England, said, ‘Giving members of
Girlguiding from all over the country the opportunity to join
together to experience the excitement of sailing the Challenger
Yachts is an important chance for them to experience the power of
teamwork and meeting challenges. I am sure that they will all
finish this week with the satisfaction of doing something they
hadn’t previously thought possible.’
The vessels will be greeted at the finish line
by Hilary, Chief Guide Gill Slocombe and Girlguiding South West
England Chief Commissioner Solange Rebours.
The 72ft yachts are owned by the Tall Ships
Youth Trust, who co-ordinated the trip.
Two thousand Girlguiding members marked
the guiding Centenary in 2010 by completing legs of a
100-day Tall Ship voyage around Britain.