The RSYC Trust is the Club’s own charity, which places young people at its centre.
The charity was established in 2016 to promote the advancement of amateur sport, in particular the provision of facilities and equipment, including the awarding of grants to enable and encourage participation in sailing and associated activities for the benefit of the public in the south of England .
To make such a wide remit more manageable, we have chosen to focus on providing on-the-water activities for disadvantaged young people, principally young carers in Hampshire. Our underlying objectives are education and wellbeing based: offering new skills, helping over 150 young carers each year to grow in confidence and resilience and improve their mental health and wellbeing by being active.
The charity, which is run by a small group of trustees, chaired by Martin Phipps, meets regularly throughout the year to plan, and coordinate a broad programme of water sports and supporting activities, which take place in the school holidays from Easter through to September. These include instructor-led taster and training sessions leading to certification, activity days and a regatta to mark the end of the summer season at Spinnaker Sailing Club. We are also fortunate to have the active support of our patron Nigel Atkinson¸ HM Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire who presented the Micheal Harlick Award (for progress) and Helena Lucas Award (for personal development) at a fantastic celebration event on the Sheildhall in November.
Last year we offered a range of different activities to suit young people at all stages of confidence in and around the water. Sadly, due to the flood damage at Gins we were only able to hold two of our four water activity days at Gins. These days were designed to give young people a well-earned break and greater confidence on the water. Activities included sailing, kayaking, paddleboarding, giant paddleboarding, river trips and crabbing. The 100 children attending all had an amazing time, and we cannot thank our happy band of over 40 amazing volunteers including members old and new and their friends for making these days so special! So, we didn’t disappoint any of our young carer groups we paid for further water activity days at other venues.
We put a high premium on the concept of progression: we want to support young carers to be the best they can be. This means that we encourage them to develop their new skills and take nationally recognised proficiency qualifications. Many your carers who first joined us in 2018 have developed their sailing skills and moved on to the RYA Youth Sailing Scheme.
We are pleased to work in partnership with two local sailing organisations, which provide the expert instructors and facilities: SWAC (Southampton Water Activities Centre) and Spinnaker Sailing Club (Ringwood). We also work closely with young carer organisations in Winchester, Romsey, the New Forest, Southampton, and Andover.
This year despite the hard work of Jan we have struggled to receive grant funding but thanks to the generosity of members, the auction at Gins organised by Stuart and the Black-Tie dinner at Careys Manor we have been able to provide all the courses and activities planned this year. We would especially like to thank Stuart and Albin, our chef, for donating a meal which was raised over £1000 and Rachel McDonnell and the staff at Careys Manor who organised the Black-Tie Dinner and auction which raised over £5000. In total we raised nearly £16000 providing activities for 244 young carers of whom 116 completed courses.
Our biggest challenge now still to replace the aged dinghies at Gins. We would like to buy three new dinghies which could also be borrowed by members at the club to encourage families and friends to get on the water and try something different. We were generously donated a wayfarer dinghy by a non-member Kevin Warland who volunteers for Sailabilty.
As you can imagine, running the Gins water activities days and regatta alone requires thorough planning, risk assessments, DBS checks, a well-equipped first aid kit and unflappable volunteers and RYA qualified instructors. If you are an RYA, kayak or paddle board instructor or have youth work experience or are qualified to drive a powerboat/safety support boat and would like to volunteer, please contact rsyctrust@rsyc.org.uk Dinghy sailors, safety boat drivers, and raft builders are especially welcome but a willingness to give time plus kindness and compassion are the most important qualifications.
The Trustees would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to all those who have supported us this year through volunteering or providing financial support. If you would like to find out more, please join us for our AGM on 26[th] March 2025 4pm at Gins.
Donating to the RSYC Trust is easy. You can leave cash or cheques [made out to The Royal Southampton Yacht Club Trust] at Gins or by bank transfer:
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The Royal Southampton Yacht Club Trust (Lloyds bank)
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Sort code 30 90-34
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Account 32571760
Or follow this link to donate through Local Giving htps://localgiving.org/charity/royal-southamptonyacht-club-trust
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