A group of youngsters who didn’t know their gunnels from their mainsails until a few days ago will this week be taking part in a prestigious sailing event.
For the teenagers have been given a unique chance to experience the joy of sailing and learn the intricate skills involved thanks to a once-in-a-lifetime offer from their landlords.
The six are tenants of Cartrefi Conwy, who, for the first time, are among the sponsors of the annual Conwy River Festival being held next week.
The link with this popular Conwy County event, which also draws participants and spectators from a wide area, was the brainchild of Andrew Bowden, Chief Executive of Cartrefi Conwy, which is responsible for the former council housing throughout the county.
A keen sailor himself, he saw it as an ideal opportunity to put something back into the community and providing opportunities for tenants to learn new skills.
So, in return for its sponsorship, he arranged for some of the housing association’s younger tenants to join the crews of two of the vessels taking part in four days of races during the week-long festival which starts next Saturday (Aug 13).
And to prepare them for the big occasion Cartrefi Conwy also paid for them to have a “taster” session at the National Watersports Centre at Plas Menai.
A few of the participants were chosen by Luke Faux, prevent and deter officer with the Conwy and Denbighshire Youth Justice Service, which works closely alongside the Association on housing matters.
Luke and Jane Hopkins, a volunteer with the Youth Justice Service, joined the teenagers both on and in the water as they learned the basic techniques under the expert eye of Plas Menai tutors.
Despite their many “dunkings” it was an experience thoroughly enjoyed by all, and left the youngsters excited about the prospect of taking part in this week’s festival.
David Hobson, 18, from Llandudno, commented: “I’ve never done anything like this before and it’s been great. I was asked if I would be interested and I’m glad that I accepted.”
Jake Sinclair, 15, from Conwy, proved a “natural” at the sport, amazing everyone at the speed with which he mastered the basics on the choppy waters of the Menai Straits.
“I thought it would be a good experience and I’ve really enjoyed it,” he said. “It’s made me want to work with boats and in particular those with engines.”
Luke Faux, who will help supervise the young sailors during their races, was delighted to have been able to give them the opportunity.
“I told them it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it was great of Cartrefi Conwy to come up with the idea. I think there will be so many positives to come out of this,” he said.
As he watched the novices put their new-found skills into practice Andrew Bowden, explained the thinking behind the project.
“In sponsoring the festival, which is a community event, we are looking for something back from it and a level of community involvement to justify our investment,” he said.
“It is part of Cartrefi Conwy’s ethos to try to provide tenants with opportunities which they might not otherwise get, and sailing not only enables them to learn new skills but to learn the value of teamwork.”
To help achieve that aim, he approached Tony Mead, who recently retired as harbourmaster in Conwy, and he accepted the idea. He then persuaded two other highly experienced skippers Des Owen and Mike Allen to include some of the youngsters in their crews.
The vessels in which they will race in the Trojan class are all about 37 – 38 fete long, considerable larger than the lightweight dinghies which they handled on the Straits.
“It should be pretty exciting for them,” said Tony, who was one of the founders of the festival.
