Adventure under sail - inspiring young people

A BIG memorable experience giving you the chance to achieve more than you thought you could

All of our voyages are exciting, challenging and action-packed with lots of opportunities to broaden your horizons.

If you are aged between 12 and 24 you could become one of the twelve crew-members that makes up the team needed to sail our amazing boats. Our voyages last from five to seven days and sail from harbours around the coastline of Scotland.

You can book on one of our adventures on your own or sail with us as part of an organised group. Most of the people that join our boats have never sailed before and you don't need any sailing knowledge or special kit to take part. Armed with a few changes of clothes, a pair of wellies, a sleeping bag and a towel you will need only enthusiasm, spirit of adventure and an open mind to become a crewmember.

Once onboard you will be involved in all the activities needed to get the boat ready for sea, and out of the harbour.

Once your personal kit is stowed for sea, the hatches are shut and you've donned your foul weather clothing and life jacket you're ready to sail. Once the lines securing the boat to the land are let off and the boat is beyond the breakwater, the sails need to go up. There are no labour saving devices onboard and so hoisting sails is quite physically demanding but worth it – its an amazing feeling when you and the crew have got the boat sailing and the engine is turned off.

When lunchtime comes the cooks (the crewmembers that are on cooking duty) disappear off to prepare a feast for the hungry crew. The boat could stop but if you're on your way to somewhere you'll probably eat on-the-go. This brings many challenges, keeping the soup in the pot, stopping the bread sliding off the table and simply moving around while everything is on a slope. The menu onboard has meals to suit everybody and is high in energy to keep everybody's strength up.

Our adventures are very hands on; we'll teach you how to you steer the boat, navigate, change the sails, keep a lookout and all the other things we need to do to keep the boat going safely. We rarely return to the same port during the voyage and passages between destinations can vary in length. To ensure the boat is safe and people can rest we run a watch system – this means we split the 12 person crew into 2 teams and then there is always an on-duty team at any one time; the watches last from 2 to 4 hours and when you're not on watch you will be resting or involved in other activities below deck. The watch system is a great way to split up all the activities onboard so that everybody is involved and everybody gets a chance to do a task at least once.

Slipping lines and setting sail requires everybody onboard (including the staff) to work as a team. Voyages are hard work but very rewarding. Together you, the crew and up to six of our volunteer staff (making a total of eighteen onboard) will explore the beautiful coastline of Scotland taking-on the challenge of the sea.

Whilst at sea you will be sailing amongst the beautiful marine environment of Scotland and seeing our country in a totally different way. You could see all sorts of different wildlife – including seals, porpoises, and whales.

Our voyages are not all about sailing, they are also about people and you can learn a lot about yourself and others. Everybody who participates takes memories away that will last a lifetime. You could gain a huge amount from one of our voyages so why not take up the challenge?

For more information on our voyages go to What do we do and What is Sail Training