Many teenagers’ goals revolve around finding someone to buy
them their next eight-pack.
But some teens have loftier ambitions, like risking storms, squalls
and potentially deranged cabinmates to sail across the Atlantic. With
the help of Seastar, a local non-profit organization, 47 youth will
spend a month at sea aboard tall ships participating in the Tall Ship
Atlantic Challenge.
“Sail training is an educational experience so, somewhat like
tuition fees, the berths aboard ship are purchased on behalf of the
participant,” explains Bailey Davis, communications spokesperson for
Seastar. The organization provides bursaries for young people who want
the chance to gain sailing experience at the hands of professional crew
members, with a focus on funding at-risk and disadvantaged youth as
well as youth from diverse socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds.
Eighteen-year-old Adam Stacey will travel from Halifax to Belfast
aboard the Concordia this summer. Stacey lives at home with his family
in Stellarton (he asserts he’s “not a loser,” as he’s only just
graduated from high school). He’s been poring over a guide book about
Belfast, which he’s excited to explore after his voyage.
Stacey enjoyed the “the tight-knit community” of about 40 people on
the Concordia, which he’s already sailed aboard in Atlantic Canada last
summer, through Seastar’s pilot program.
He does anticipate challenges, though. “Your life becomes running
that ship and there’s no cell phone or internet or any of that,” he
says. “It’s difficult to adjust from life on land to life at sea.”
Still, it’s all worth the experience. “I remember being little and
my grandparents taking me to see the tall ships in Halifax,” he
explains. “I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s fulfilling the dream of
getting to sail a vessel.” —LH
This article appears in Jul 16-22, 2009.
