This Easter we took 24 children to the beautiful Isle of Wight for NHP’s first ever sailing trip at the UKSA centre! We had an amazing time, gaining experience of sailing dinghies and keelboats, battling some extreme conditions as storm Kathleen arrived. The children grew in confidence over the course of the week, learning how to work as a team to steer and control the vessels, as well as learning how to navigate and plot an accurate course. They also learnt the art of dry capsizing with some hilarious practice attempts that ended in many a marvellous mistake being made!
Other activities the children experienced included kayaking and paddleboarding but the absolute highlight of the trip was our final morning of body boarding. The children faced the huge waves and freezing conditions with trepidation but met them head on with lots of squealing and shrieking from everyone, including the staff!
The evenings were filled with even more entertainment, allowing the children to experience the pure joy of a crabbing competition, a water polo evening and of course the end of trip disco, complete with some sensational dance moves!
Overall, it was a wonderful trip filled with fun activities and valuable lessons about the sea and sailing. The UKSA instructors commented on the maturity and positivity of our NHP children and were blown away by the intelligence of their questions and their willingness to get stuck in.
Well done and thank you to all of our Sailors for such a great trip, and thank you to Ms Kirkland and Mr Hadley for being fantastic skippers!
Ms Kirby
