Projects
We are proud of our projects. These are currently active.
Check them out!
Ill Health, Disability & Social Justice
Ship to Shore
-
For young carers
Youngsters who care for others learn all about the River Tay and its surrounds
-
Respite and renewal
Summer boat trips as short breaks for carers and cared for
-
Ongoing action
A yearlong accredited programme for young carers
Ship to Shore
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 – Missel Thrush (pictured), a large (40 tonne) stable vessel, with sufficient on-deck seating and an internal saloon. Missel Thrush is a great boat to introduce people to being out on the water and has a maximum cruising speed of 10 knots/ hour (11.5 miles/ hour), which is ideal for observing the Tay’s wildlife. We will also use Catalina, 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
Prisons Project
-
For prisoners
People close to release and looking for new directions in their lives
-
Learning and the sea
Providing maritime qualifications and recreational activity
-
Further progress
Towards employment and volunteering
The Prisons Project
This targets prisoners from SPS Castle Huntly (Scotland’s only open prison which is seven miles from our base). We provide training to take them through four internationally recognised maritime qualifications, then provide volunteering roles for successful participants. For the duration of their sentence they assist Taymara’s training team as volunteers, supporting us in managing the development of their peers, both in practical work with us and academic support to their peers in the prison. We then select a group whose credentials we seek to upgrade in order that they may become qualified instructors. On release all participants will become part of our Sea Change – Ex Offenders programme where we aim to help them find suitable volunteering opportunities. Not only does this give them qualifications but also that self-confidence, which is vital to their release after a long time inside.
Coming soon another great project
-
Learning experiences
Young people with chronic illness or disability experience the river
-
Educating children
Unlock the secrets of Scotland's largest river and its present day surroundings
-
The Tay today
The Tay is home to a major port and many small harbours. Find out how they help to shape our lives today
Tay'gether...Improving Lives
This project, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, provides an introduction to contemporary Dundee, North East Fife and Perth and Kinross for children whose imagination and interest has been stimulated by river trips provided by the Time for Life! project. Direct referrals to the project are also welcome and will involve at least one river trip.
They will, for example, visit the port from the seaward side, viewing at close quarters the massive 17,000 tonne jackup rigs and ships carrying various cargoes from the Baltic and further afield. They can view the magnificent architecture of the V & A Dundee from metres away on the water, and see – literally from underneath – how the Tay’s two major bridges were constructed.
They will then be taken to the sites on land and given informative tours which will show them aspects of the features the public never sees or hears about.
Improving Lives gives young people a whole new perspective on their local area as it is today and how the river has helped to shape it.
Email lynn.cunningham@taymara.org
North Carr Lightship
Taymara has very reluctantly taken the decision that there is no other option but to deconstruct the North Carr lightvessel. The charity has over the past decade spent a great deal of money, volunteer time and effort in an attempt to maintain the ship and to find a solution for its long-term preservation. Unfortunately, a unique set of circumstances has resulted in an inability to determine a means whereby she might be fully restored. Over the past five years it has become apparent that the hull has suffered a significant level of decay. There has been a number of damaging leaks which we have duly pumped out, and perforations in the hull have been repaired by our volunteers using cement boxes and other means. Unfortunately, it has come to the time when no more can be done and there is a danger that the proliferation of leaks will become unsustainable - with potentially dire consequences. In the absence of any external intervention that might be forthcoming, the only solution available to Taymara at present is to rescue every movable artefact and ultimately to remove the hull from Victoria Dock. This is a very sad time for our members, who have a tremendous affection for the iconic vessel and who have worked tirelessly to try and ensure that she might have a future. Regrettably, given the state of the vessel, there is no other way forward.
View Our Image Gallery – Dolphin Heaven is a Place on Earth
Photography by Ken Bushe and David Kett. Copyright © Taymara 2024
Click on image to enlarge. Left and right arrows to scroll. Esc to main page.
Taymara Gallery
TAYMARA
CONTACT US