Taymara will provide monthly activities for the groups of young carers, working under the project title ‘Ship to Shore’. On five of the months during Taymara’s sailing season, the activity will be based around a River Tay boat trip and will include onboard activities such as learning to helm (drive) the boat and basic navigational skills, wildlife spotting and learning (including dolphins, seals, and an array of seabirds), onboard marine rangers (artefact handling such as shark jaws and whale bones) and basic vessel maintenance.

The onshore activities will include a mixture of visits to include local maritime museums and the Sealife Centre, the RNLI lifeboat station, maritime history walks and beach visits. There will also be some workshop-based marine activity including learning ropes and knot tying, navigational markers and passage planning.

We will look to use two of our vessels for the project – Badger, a large (10 tonne) stable vessel, with sufficient on-deck seating and an internal shelter. Badger is a great boat to introduce people to being out on the water and has a maximum cruising speed of 15 knots (17 miles per hour), which is ideal for observing the Tay’s wildlife. We will also use Free Spirit (pictured), a RIB (rigid inflatable boat) which is fast, low down in the water and is exciting and fun to be in. The afloat and the onshore sessions will last between one hour and a half day, depending on the activity, and are designed to engage all beneficiaries.  There will also potentially be occasions where we will wrap the Taymara session around activity being delivered by Dundee Carers Centre, to include a whole day out with a picnic or lunch. Our approach is to be as flexible as possible and co-produce the programme and activities with the young carers.The ‘Ship to Shore’ programme will be an accredited programme designed to enable beneficiaries to achieve a Dynamic Youth Award.

For the Summer Boat Trips we will provide a boat trip on the river Tay, on Missel Thrush. It will depart from Broughty Ferry Harbour, which is part of Dundee, making it very accessible, and last for one hour. On the trip, passengers will have the opportunity to see Dundee and Fife shores from the water – a fresh perspective. They will also have the opportunity to see the wonderful wildlife of the river Tay and its estuary, including seals, dolphins and an array of sea birds. Even sitting out on deck in the fresh air is a restorative experience beyond compare.

For further details please contact lynn.cunningham@taymara.org