Charities
The Rona Trust
In May we’re going to tell you a true life tale about charity on the seven seas. Prepare yourselves for a tantalising crash course about one of the oldest sailing training charities in the United Kingdom, The Rona Trust.
The Trust was founded in 1960 and to date has taken thousands of young people to sea with one clear aim in mind. To: “Provide opportunities for young people to acquire those attributes of a seaman, namely: a sense of responsibility, resourcefulness and teamwork, which will help them throughout their lives.”
The trust are also the second largest provider of offshore sailing in the UK for people who are visually impaired, deaf, deaf and blind, people with severe learning difficulties, those with mental health issues and more recently, young people who are suffering with cancer.
I caught up with Ann Bowers from the trust and asked her a few nautical questions.
What is the next big thing on the calendar for the Rona Trust?
It will be the Tall Ships Race this summer. The boat will leave on June 21 and return on July 7. It’s going to be a great event and the ship will race around the Baltic, visiting Finland, Denmark and Poland.
Fact File: The Tall Ships' Races of 2007 will start from Århus in Denmark. The ships will sail from here in the first race to Kotka. The following leg from Kotka to Stockholm will be a less competitive cruise before the second race from Stockholm to Szczecin in Poland.
What do the trips involve during the rest of the year?
The standard trip is a six day voyage that leaves from South Hampton. If the crew are over 16 then the ship’s course will take them to France and the Channel Islands. If they are under 16 then it will stick to the south coast of Britain.
Last season we ran 156 training voyages and took over 2000 young people to destinations throughout the English Channel, France, Portugal, Spain and Belgium.
Who makes the Rona Trust tick and who raises the money to make the voyages happen?
The Rona Trust has just 5 full time staff to administer the charity and mange the 400+ volunteers. The majority of our volunteers started as trainees themselves. The volunteers pay exactly the same as the trainees - £100 for a 6 day voyage - and also volunteer time for the boat maintenance and training.
St Christopher’s Inns have lent a helping hand to the Rona Trust over the past 25 years through our holding company, Interpub plc.
Fact File: The Rona Trust is a registered charity that was established over 40 years ago by Viscount Amory of Tiverton when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer. From small beginnings the charity has broadened its scope and has evolved. It now offers sail training to boys and girls across the UK, specifically to those who would not consider or have the opportunity, to take part in a sail training voyage.
If you want to get involved or help out then take a trip to www.ronatrust.com
