Morvargh Sailing - A Social Enterprise
Morvargh Sailing Project was incorporated as a Community Interest Company in January 2010. Our mission? To use sail training to inspire and change lives. Since our incorporation as a social enterprise we have taken many young people sailing on our Tall Ship, Helen Mary R. We use the medium of offshore sailing because it is an unforgiving natural environment that provides a sense of risk and adventure to the participants; whilst allowing us to develop them over a range of disciplines.
Our Tall Ship, Helen Mary R is a natural extension to this philosophy, she requires hard physical work and cannot be sailed without teamwork, communication & resilience, both on deck and down below. Most people come to us with little or no sailing experience but nearly all find it a life changing experience!
What's in a name
Morvargh is Cornish for Seahorse; when we created the sailing project in 2010 we wanted a nautical based name. As most sailors are a superstitious lot we loved the mythology of Neptune the Roman God of the sea. He looks after us sailors and keeps us safe. It was a natural extension to look further into the legend and we found the Neptune is also the God of Roman Horses. Finally bringing us back to present times; Morvargh Sailing Project is based in Plymouth; when sailing in Plymouth sound, Devon is to the East and Cornwall to the west. We love cruising in Cornwall so a quick search of Cornish/Keltic languages and Morvargh was born. Morvargh can be pronounced like this 'Morvar'.
90% of young people sailing with us learn something about themselves which will make a positive change in their life; some make profound life changing discoveries that lead to amazing positive change!
Contact us
Helen Mary R mooring
Office Opening
- Mon
- 9:00-16:00
- Tue
- 9:00-16:00
- Wed
- 9:00-16:00
- Thu
- 9:00-16:00
- Fri
- 9:00-16:00
- Sat
- CLOSED
- Sun
- CLOSED
The Team

Matthew Barraud
SkipperMatt is Helen Mary R's Skipper and Founder of Morvargh Sailing Project. He can be found drinking gallons of tea whilst keeping a weather eye on all that is happening aboard. He also instigates great games of hide and seek!
Vicky Barraud
Ops ManagerVicky is Morvargh's Operations Manager. Not only does she organise all the voyages but she also manages our two Instagram accounts, Facebook page & groups, Twitter, Snapchat, and LinkedIn social media accounts. Oh and she REALLY wants a 'sea' dog!
Testimonials
Testimonials
I have sailed for 20 years and, during that time, have used offshore sailing as a means for personal development; in a different sphere, I have also been involved with youth development. Morvargh Sailing Project, under Matthew's direction, provides excellent youth development opportunities. Matthew's personal contribution both to the Project in general and each voyage in particular, attending to the needs of each individual and providing an appropriate level of challenge to each, is excellent and I do not hesitate in providing an enthusiastic recommendation of him and the Project.Sir Dusty Miller
Matthew Barraud is a forward thinking and passionate director and skipper of a great sailing charity. With a call from the CBI for more grit than grades from our young people Morvargh Sailing Project offers students and employers the opportunity to expand their skills and employability.Paul White
Matthew is an inspiration and a pleasure to work with. His enthusiasm for the Morvargh Sailing Project is boundless and having sailed with him a number of times I can confidently state that he is a very experienced and capable skipper as well. The Morvargh Sailing Project makes a real difference to young people’s lives, it challenges them, it makes them re-evaluate their behavior and ultimately it makes them better people. I am very proud to be able to help Matt get this project off the ground and hope to work with him for many years to come.Dave Gibson