My name is Wing Chan. In 1979 , when I was 16, I was lucky to have gone on a Tall Ships Adventure.  I was even more fortunate to have been asked back as a young volunteer leader. From that voyage until 1985, I spent over 450 days working on the "Sir Winston Churchill" and the " Malcolm Miller". Have a blog : https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sail-training-teaches-delegation-leadership-wing-nin-chan/

Since 2013, I have been rather obsessed with helping young people go off on similar adventures.

To date, I reckon I have helped to fund or facilitated over 100 young folk to go off to do something completely out of their comfort zone. Here is a short clip from a 2014 Tall Ships Race : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGgGf8PNL00.

Here is a facebook group of what the young ones got up to over the years, including 2021 : https://www.facebook.com/groups/youngpeoplegosailtraining

The two young Antiguans will be joining a couple from Liverpool to go from Harlingen in the Netherlands to Antwerp in Belgium on a sail training vessel called " Patricia".

The major cost is the  airfare across the Atlantic. These two young people have never travelled this far!!

They will be taking lots of photos and videos which will be shared across the Internet.

Here are some words from Ta Janica ::

""Sailing gives me the opportunity to discover what my potential is. I love being out on the water and it is amazing how beautiful the ocean is (turtles are my favorites).

I want to prove that women can sail and I like to encourage women to start sailing. Being a female instructor makes it easier to understand the female sailors and what guidance they need to learn sailing.

The Tall Ships Races 2022 gives me the opportunity to broaden my horizon and meet sailors from all over the world. I like to share my sailing knowledge with other Tall Ships trainees and it will help me to become a better instructor. I have never sailed anywhere else than in Antigua so thisTall Ships event opportunity will give me the inspiration and experience to grow in my sailing career.

In the future I like to be a senior instructor, cross an ocean and be a sailing role model for other women in the world.

Also, I will represent Antigua and her rich sailing heritage in this Tall Ships event. I hope that in the future a lot more Antiguan youngsters and from the Caribbean Islands will get the possibility to join
the Tall Ships events.

I have 7 years sailing experience and I started sailing in a dingy course at the National Sailing Academy in Antigua. I have been always a sportive girl and I played football before I started sailing in 2018 and I raced in Antigua Sailing Week through joining the Youth to Keel program. I did my instructor course in November 2021 and now I work full time as a dingy instructor for the National Sailing Academy."""

And here are words from J-maiah :

"I started with a dingy sailing course at the National Sailing Academy in Antigua. In the beginning of January 2019 I joined the sail training program of the West Indies Sail Heritage Foundation. We are sailing on the traditional wooden Carriacou Sloop "New Moon.

I hope that this voyage will allow me to gain more sailing experience and get a better insight in what a maritime career path could be. I like to learn more about teamwork and strenghten my leadership skills. As this is an international voyage I would be keen to work alongside other
people from all around the globe. I will be proudly represent Antigua and Barbuda and share the culture and sailing heritage of the Caribbean. I would love to share my experience with others and
learn new skills from my fellow crew mates.

I hope to meet new friends, promote the International Sail Training program in Antigua and I am hoping we to welcome the Tall Ships Fleet in Antigua and Barbuda in the near future."