Video Speaker 21st August 2020 - Chas Cowan, Tall Ships Trust

Tall Ships Youth Trust- On Friday 21st August Chesham Rotary had the pleasure of welcoming Chas Cowan from TSYT to its virtual Zoom Club meeting to present on the trust’s activities.

Chas Cowan is the Youth Development and Volunteers Manager for the trust and has been with the organisation for over 20 years, having previously served in the British Army for 24 years at home and abroad.

The trust is the UK’s oldest and largest sail training charity, and is also a youth development charity. They take young people aged 12-25, 80% of which are disadvantaged or disabled, on residential youth sailing voyages learning lessons that set them up for life by achieving their own potential. A programme of adult voyages also helps subsidise the youth programmes.

The trust no longer has any Tall ships in the traditional sense due to costs of £400k to maintain the necessary legislation. They now have four 72ft Challenger yachts that have all raced around the world and a 55ft Ketch made partly with concrete(!) gifted by the Bolton school, of which 1000 of the school students took part in the build. The trust is in the process of fundraising 5 million pounds for a 24-berth schooner type flagship similar to that owned 60 years ago. This would operate for over 20 years helping to take 50,000 young people on sailing adventures.

The trust’s brand values are summarised by ‘Inclusion, Adventure, Excellence’ and reflects their culture, achievements, and standards, with their young people achieving great things in their lives relative to where they may have been destined. As Chas related, for one youngster achievement was getting out of their sleeping bag on the first morning, with others trying to rig the boat on the first day!! A fantastic organisation, and one that is really worthy of Chesham Rotary’s recent donation, which the trust commits to using for and benefitting local Chesham candidates.

More information can be found at www.tallships.org