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Isle of Wight trio selected to take part in Gipsy Moth adventure

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Fifteen young people from the Isle of Wight attended a Gipsy Moth IV selection course at UKSA in February, all hoping to be awarded one of the three crew spaces on the Gipsy Moth global voyage.

During the two day selection process, the young hopefuls took part in a series of challenges aimed to draw out their strengths, develop team working skills and bring out their personalities to enable the selection panel to make their decision. The weekend’s activities included sessions aboard the Academy’s 26ft keelboats, team games and a raft building challenge.

The selection panel met at the end of the course to make their choice and based their decisions on many aspects of the candidate’s qualities including enthusiasm, respect of others and challenges overcome in their own lives. The three lucky people chosen from this course were Amy Prime, aged 17 years from Ryde, Scott Bruce, aged 16yrs from Sandown and Joseph Aziz, aged 16 yrs from Cowes.

Amy, Scott and Joseph will now go on to a Training weekend, 17th – 18th March, with other young people from around the UK, to prepare for their lifetime adventure on Gipsy Moth.

Mike King, Managing Director of the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership said
“The aim of this selection process is not only to find people aged between 16 - 20 to fly out and join Gipsy Moth, but also to give 120 Isle of Wight young people the opportunity to take part in this fantastic course, to have a go at various activities and broaden their awareness of opportunities available right here on the Isle of Wight”.

Scott Bruce aged 16 yrs is currently studying towards his GCSE’s, has done some sailing before, but never to this level, and is really excited about his voyage from Malta to Sardinia. Amy Prime is a keen dancer, and enjoys the lifestyle on the Isle of Wight compared to her former family base in North London. She has been selected to travel from Sardinia to Palma in April. Joseph Aziz impressed the selection panel with his great attitude and confidence. He is currently studying towards his GCSE’s and has the added responsibility of being a member of the important crew which will bring Gipsy Moth back from Plymouth into Cowes, expected to be a well publicized and watched event.

Jon Ely of UKSA said “We are so pleased that the Gipsy Moth project has allowed us to inspire so many young people on the Isle of Wight. When the yacht returns to Cowes this June, we want to give every school on the Island the opportunity to visit the vessel and participate in sailing trips in the Solent. The selection weekends held at the UKSA have been a huge success, they have given young Islanders the opportunity to get out on the water, make new friends and find out about the career opportunities the marine industry has to offer.”

Mike King finished by saying “The quality of all the young people was fantastic, it’s just unfortunate we only had a few places to offer from this course. We know that Amy, Scott and Joseph will get so much out of this experience and we look forward to hearing of their adventures.”

Gipsy Moth will be returning to her new home port of Cowes on Sunday 3rd June 2007, and is expecting a warm homecoming after her round the world adventures. It is hoped a large flotilla of yachts will greet the famous ketch as she sails into the Solent. Gipsy Moth IV will continue to be used to provide young people with unique sailing experiences. To help fund the youth work and secure the yacht’s future for years to come, a range of Gipsy Moth IV sailing courses will be launched this summer providing Gipsy Moth enthusiasts with the opportunity to step into Chichester’s shoes. It is expected people will travel to the Isle of Wight from all around the country for the chance to sail aboard Gipsy Moth IV.

The selection weekends at UKSA and voyage places for Islanders have been made possible by the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership through their Inspire project which aims to raise the aspirations of young Isle of Wight people.