Ocean Youth Trust Ireland (OTYI) is a Sail Training charity committed to working with young people from all backgrounds throughout Ireland. The Trust is dedicated to training the leaders of tomorrow by empowering and supporting them to succeed in one of the most challenging environments known to man, the Ocean.
On Friday 9th of April, thanks to generous funding from Sports NI, OYTI launched its recently acquired fleet of Dinghy & Keel boats for 2010. The RS Fevas, RS Visions, RS Elites and RIB’s together with the beautifully impressive 68ft Yacht Lord Rank were on display to the public at the Abercorn Basin, behind the Odyssey arena in Belfast. OYTI were pleased to have the Rt. Honorable Lord Mayor of Belfast Naomi Long present for the event, who said after have experiencing the work of the Trust at the successful Belfast Maritime Tall Ships Festival last August, “As the only Sail Training charity in operation in Ireland we are delighted that OYTI are growing from strength to strength and have secured this grant funding from Sport NI to diversify their service to include this beautiful new fleet which will be an asset to communities across Belfast and wider afield.”.
Along with OYTI, The Chairman of the Royal Yachting Association NI, Jay Colville, who was delighted to hear the news of the Trust’s new acquisition, believes the main opportunity that this new small boat fleet will provide is the active participation of communities and, in particular, young people from across NI in sailing, saying “The new Dinghy Fleet is a fantastic acquisition for OYTI, complimenting their existing Lord Rank, this new fleet will provide an opportunity for the Trust to engage with a broader range of people, as an introduction into sailing and then to further nurture their progression as their experience grows.”
Bronagh Cappa Chief Executive of the Trust added ‘Ocean Youth Trust staff, volunteers and trustees are delighted that Sport NI have supported this initiative. The fleet which is being launched today will give a unique opportunity for young people from across the Island of Ireland to experience the excitement of sail training. The expansion to include a small boat fleet will mark the 50th anniversary of OYTI and opens up new opportunities for the Trust to work as an integral service for local groups through the community boating scheme.’
In addition to being able to provide new sailing opportunities throughout the community, the new fleet has also created a number of job opportunities, with OYTI needing to employ a further 30 seasonal crew members and volunteers to allow this project to operate effectively. The acquisition of this small boat fleet has dramatically increased the number of sports jobs in sailing in Northern Ireland. The current skipper on board Lord Rank has worked his way through OYTI from volunteer to trained skipper in the space of 4 years, and their senior skipper came through a partner agency and has a similar story. OYTI advocate youth training to encourage more of our users to think of sailing, outdoor education or maritime industry as a career and will continue to work with this ethos.
What next for the Small Boat fleet is a week of Try Sailing, which OYTI extend out an invitation for all to take part, with the aim to give everyone who is interested the chance to have fun trying out the new boats regardless of their experience within sailing! This will be taking place the week commencing 26th April, running out of the Newtownards Sailing Club, where full details of our 2010 programming will also be available.
For more information on the Trust, on how to get involved in Try Sailing, and for volunteer opportunities, please telephone 028 90 454472 / 07834856676 or alternatively visit the website at www.oyti.org.
