Sailing into New Horizons - a young persons' perspective

On April 1st, 2023, a group of amazing young people departed Fowey on a life-changing voyage called the ASPIRE360 Round Britain Challenge. The group ultimately completed a 1758 nautical mile, 49-day expedition circumnavigating the UK.

Long voyages exemplify the essence of Sail Training, magnifying its transformative powers over an extended timeframe. By immersing young people in the invaluable life lessons garnered aboard for a protracted time, these journeys transcend just instruction; they become incubators for ingrained habits that sculpt character and build resilience and grit.

Operating under the 'ASPIRE' mantra, our expeditions are aspirational, striving to elevate young people's perceptions of their inherent capabilities and untapped potential. The prolonged exposure to challenges, setbacks, and triumphs creates proficiency in seafaring and, most crucially, the cultivation of skills and virtues that change lives.

The prolonged duration of our expeditions allows participants to unveil strengths they never knew existed and confront weaknesses with the resilience that only the boundless open ocean can inspire.

Ella Cornish

One of our ASPIRE360 Round Britain Challenge participants was Ella. During the challenge, Ella filmed her experiences. She has spent the last ten months producing a series of seven short video diaries that give a real taste of how a young person experiences a voyage with Morvargh.

Ella started her journey with Morvargh while participating in our Scilly Islands voyage in 2022. This was an amazingly fun voyage—the first time we'd made it to the Scillies! We could tell Ella loved being aboard, so we dropped the idea of participating in ASPIRE360, and the rest is history!

Ella is currently studying A-levels at Bodmin College and is using these vlogs as part of her coursework for the photograph A-level. After watching them, we believe she should get top marks!

Ultimately, she's hoping to study film at Falmouth University and sail on other exciting voyages with Morvargh. Sail Training is about discovering inner strengths and capabilities, forging resilience in the face of challenges, and fostering a deep sense of teamwork. As young people step aboard Helen Mary R, they begin to discover the extent of their potential.

When confidence builds, we introduce young people to becoming Watch Leaders, volunteering for the Project, and giving back. For some, this spark of something bigger is a real catalyst for change. The leadership qualities created through becoming a Watch Leader don't just benefit young people in the present—the personal growth and skills gained set them up for lifelong success.

From Ella's videos, we can immediately see how she becomes more confident as we sail through each episode, and it's pretty humbling to see how much of an effect the voyage had on her.

We're proud to share Ella's videos below - do give her channels a like and subscribe!

Vicky and I think Ella has made a set of fantastic videos that really capture what it's like to be aboard. Thank you, Ella, for making such a fantastic series!

If you can, please give Ella a follow and subscribe on the following channels:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellacornish360/ 
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ellacornish360 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084015383535 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ella-cornish-3133ba269/ 

If you've been inspired to join one of our voyages or expeditions, you can find more information on the following pages:

Find a voyage or learn about our Expeditions.