'Life-changing' sailing programme restores young Scots' confidence after Covid isolation

David Cunningham, 25, found Covid-19 lockdowns difficult to cope with.

Working from home in Airdrie, he felt “totally isolated from the world”.

Harry Hunter, 18, from Kennoway, Fife, found it hard to get on at work as a landscaper and joiner.

And 31-year-old Abby McLeod’s mental health “took a dive” during the lonely months of lockdown in East Kilbride.

The yacht in Tobermory.

These young people had never met before, but after spending five days on a Clipper Race yacht learning to sail off the west coast of Scotland, they have now all been through the same experience.

Our Isles and Oceans is a new project funded by private investors, which aims to get young people “back on track” after the setbacks of the pandemic.

Applications opened earlier in the year, and some 40 people aged between 18 and 35 were chosen to take part in the funded opportunity, in partnership with Clipper.

The organisation is the first British team to enter a boat into the 2023-24 round the world Clipper Race, and it is hoped that some of the youngsters who learned to sail this summer will be funded to take part.

Abby McLeod said it was one of the best experiences she has ever had.

Mr Hunter would love the chance to take part in the round-the-world race.

Having never sailed before, since returning from the Our Isles and Oceans experiences he feels drawn to the water, and now has dreams of one day living on a boat.

“I’ve got ambition now," he said

“It makes you wonder what life’s actually about.

The highlight for David Cunningham was the night sail.

“It's helped me with my mental health, thinking that if I can do this then I can do anything. It’s helped me with everything in life since I came back, I’ve just been a happier person.”

Covid-19 “kicked away the ladder” that many young people were just beginning to climb in their careers and social lives, project co-founder Anthony Stodart believes.

Mr Stodart, a farmer and managing director of outdoor clothing retailer ArdMoor, is also a keen sailor.

Harry Hunter said he has gained ambition because of the programme.

He and co-founder David Stewart Howitt, a former marine, wanted to empower young people by giving them an opportunity linked to sailing and the outdoors.

“What better environment to pull people together than being on the ocean?” said Mr Stodart.

“You've got to work as a team, and you've got to come together.

“You might not like people, but you've got to pull on the rope, because it takes more than one of you to pull sails up.

“It’s a great levelling experience, because the sea can be a friend and can be a foe, but if it's your foe you've got to work together to overcome it.”

The organisers of the programme hope it will continue as a long-term project. They plan to run the same short experiences next summer, and in 2023, and then to take part in the round the world race in 2023-24.

Participants on the programme take a well-earned break.

And the young people who take part will have continued support, Mr Stodart said.

“We see ourselves building the Our Isles community, where everyone who's been through it becomes an ambassador for the programme itself, and for each other,” he said.

“And we're there for as long as they need us. If they want to come back to us in three years time and ask for help… we’ll still be there.”

Harry Hunter found the experience a challenge at first, and had trouble sleeping during his first night on the boat.

But he soon got used to it, helped by his new teammates.

“We were cooking in the kitchen beside each other, we were cleaning beside each other… once you’re on the boat it’s like all outside life doesn’t matter, because you’re there on that boat and you’re living it and that’s what you’re doing,” he said.

For David Cunningham, the experience was “life-changing”.

“During the pandemic it was really difficult,” he said.

“I was feeling really isolated, away from friends and having to work from home… feeling totally isolated from the world.

“I felt like a shell of the person I was before.”

Mr Cunningham, whose job involves coordinating a mentoring programme for young people, found working from home and online-interaction increased his anxiety.

When restrictions began to ease this year, he found himself feeling like a young teenager again, learning how to interact with others.

The prospect of spending several days on a boat with ten strangers made him “really nervous”, but once he arrived, his opinion changed.

“It was so amazing to meet new people,” he said.

“I realised how resilient I really am, that’s what it taught me. I thought I wasn’t a strong person, but by the end of it I had met loads of people, learned new skills, and I realised I was more resilient than I thought I was.”

Abby McLeod was also nervous before the experience.

She had anxiety before the pandemic, but found lockdown increased this, and her sense of isolation.

But it was one of the “best experiences” she has ever had.

A particular highlight for her was receiving feedback from the experienced Clipper skippers, who were training the group.

Ms McLeod works for herself as a carer, so there is usually no one to give her feedback or encouragement.

“It was really quite emotional hearing people say all these things about you, especially when I've not been around new people for such a long time,” she said.

She is now “much more confident” in herself, and more willing to meet new people and try new things.

“It’s totally encouraged me and I feel more up to being sociable,” she added.

Mr Cunningham’s highlight was night sailing, although he found this the scariest part of the sailing activity.

He said: “The highlight for me was just during the night sail, sitting there looking at the stars with people who have been through the same or similar as yourself during the pandemic, and realising you’re not alone.”

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