Blue Mermaid – not just a pretty boat…

Blue Mermaid is working hard this summer with back to back youth voyages and the occasional barge match in between. No one can better describe the benefits of a voyage with sea-Change Sailing Trust than the young people themselves. Here is what they have said to us this year:

“You’d think as you look at Blue Mermaid from the shore, ‘Oh, that’s a pretty boat’, but you wouldn’t know how much it unites people and what it brings out in them”.

“A place where you can be yourself; you are not judged; everyone is so accepting; you don’t need to wear a mask; you don’t need to worry about how you look or how you’re acting…at school I have to be so many different selves. No one has ever been rude to me here. Everyone comes from different backgrounds, and no one has had the same experience. We’re all so similar and so different. We are accepting of difference. Everyone comes with a certain respect for everyone and then it grows. It’s like a big blended family.”

“We’ve made lifelong friendships with people we never knew at school and they still come to us if they have problems. We look out for them in school. It’s not a choice to meet them, everyone gives everyone a chance and you’re just so close to everyone.”

“It’s like the laughter at Christmas dinner. There are so many laughs. All the chores and tasks of everyday life are enjoyable, and we even have a laugh washing up.”

“It helps to clear my head mentally, so I’m not over thinking about what others think. We come on board feeling mentally drained from school and physically ok, and we leave feeling physically exhausted, in a good way, but mentally refreshed and full of life. It’s like a big clear out, mentally. It’s like you’ve got a broom and swept your brain out. It helps to clear my head mentally so I’m not over thinking about what others think. As long as you’re trying, that’s all that matters.”

“It’s so wholesome, no phones. We are so disconnected from being at school where it’s so stressful and dramatic. You have to be a certain person, act this way and that way. Here you can be your true self.”

To all our supporters, everywhere. These quotes, direct from the young people themselves, show that your contribution to Sea-Change Sailing Trust is making a real difference to real lives. Thank you!